And Her Tears Filled The Moon
by greenpeach20
Summary: The story of two lovers that fought for the love they couldnt have.
1. Titus Valerius

**Titus Valerius**

**44 b.c.**

I had been in pain for an immeasurable amount of time, but the pain was receding. I was beginning to lose the pain in my fingers and toes. I wasn't sure how long ago it was, but I had discovered I could hear everything. My world had been nothing but pain for however long it was, only for me to suddenly hear everything for miles. I could now hear horses coming through gates. I could hear men and women making purchases and talking politics. The news of the day was Julius Ceaser. He'd been murdered from the sound of things.

I could even smell everything now. I could smell sweet smells and foul smells all at the same time, and I loved it. I could even smell the small dusts that showed themselves in the light. I could smell things that were close to me and I could smell things from a mile away. It was almost blissful to be able to smell so many things.

Eventually, the pain left my forearms and calves. The mid sections of my body continued to burn. I waited for the pain to go away completely, not sure how long I'd been waiting. Eventually, the pain was beginning to center in my heart, which was beating furiously. I could hear that too. I feared anyone could. It was loud and exuberant. Impossible not to hear.

Within moments of the pain centering my heart, it became impossibly hotter, more painful. I don't know how I didn't scream from the pain. But then, suddenly, my heart made one last sound then went silent and the pain was completely gone. I breathed in relief and was delighted by the experience. I tasted everything. There was sun, lavender, silks and fruits engulfing my palette. Everything in the world that could be tasted blessed my mouth.

I opened my eyes and saw a ceiling. Then I lifted myself up, and was taken aback by how quickly that all happened. I looked around the room I was in. It was small. There was a bed at my left indicating a bedroom. It had curtains available for privacy. Then there was a distance between that and the table almost in the middle of the large room.

I also saw a woman at the far right of that room. She looked beaten and her wrists were covered in blood. I took in a delicious breath and felt my throat burn. I followed the smell. It led me to the dead woman in the corner of the large, one room house. My throat burned like I was drinking fire. I walked ever closer to the dead body and followed the smell until I found out what it was from. It was her blood.

This took me by surprise. I forced myself to back away from her, not sure what was going on. I looked to my right and looked into a mirror that was on the wall. What I saw could be no less than a god. The man in the mirror had olive skin that was still pale looking. His hair was a dark, dark brown and his face was squared and chiseled as if made by a master craftsman. He looked like he could be a man in his early thirties who the years have been very kind to. What took me by surprise were his eyes. They were scarlet red and monstrous.

"Perseia!" I looked in the direction of the sound. I'd heard so many footsteps outside that I hadn't been paying them any mind. Whoever it was began coming closer to the one room house. I ran in the back so whoever it was wouldn't see me.

I hid in a recession in the wall and waited. She reached the house within seconds of me hiding. It surprised me how quickly I reached the recession since it was on the other side of the one room house.

"Perseia, are you in?!" After that, the person calling the name walked into the house. She took a brief look around the house before she saw the body of the woman drenched in blood on the floor. "PERSEIA!!"

She ran the short distance to the body and began to examine her, turning her over and trying to look at her face. The burn in my throat became impossibly worse when I breathed in the air that came in with her. And the burn continued after the doors had shut. The burn was too painful. My instincts were telling me to follow the smell and to drink. I walked out of the recession in the wall and began walking to her. I could hear my feet touching the ground, but evidently, she couldn't. Finally, she looked around at me and her eyes became shocked, then angry and overflowing with tears.

"You killed her. You monster, you killed her!" I was taken by surprise by her reaction, but I ignored it for now. The scent of what would relieve the burn in my throat was coming from her. I walked closer and she started backing away from me. "What are you doing?"

I ignored her question. I kept moving closer to her. Then, a wind blew from outside that lifted the cloth that was over the windows. When they lifted, a beam of light came into the room. I saw something shinning and noticed from the corner of my eye that it was my skin. The woman in front of me gasped and practically ran backwards away from me and into a wall. Now her face was free of any anger or sadness. Now, all I saw was fear. She looked at my eyes, and she looked like she might have been frozen solid if it weren't for her heart beating and her heavy breathing.

"What happened to you?" I stopped when I heard that question. I didn't know what had happened. I couldn't remember anything. I didn't even remember what my name was. But at the moment, I really didn't care. The burn was too painful to bear. She made a piercing scream when I threw myself at the source of the delicious scent that she had. I bit into her neck and tasted something sweet and delicious, so I began to drink.

It was blood, I was sure. But it didn't taste or smell like what I thought blood smelled and tasted like. This was sweet and savory and refreshing. It was like eating an excellent, high quality meal, but in a warm liquid form. Her scream became gargled after a minute and then finally was no more. I kept drinking and drinking until there was nothing left for me to take. I tossed her body to the ground and sighed blissfully. The burn in my throat was still there, but it was far less horrific.

I heard more footsteps coming my way. They were probably planning to see who screamed and why. I went back to the recession in the wall that I had taken before and waited. When three men forced their way into the house, their eyes bugged from the sight of two dead women lying motionless and drained on the floor. The burn was there again. I didn't give them a chance to scream. I broke all their necks and began drinking their blood. By the time I was finished with the third man, the burn in my throat was almost completely gone. I could hardly notice it anymore, even with the extra blood that was surrounding me. My clothes were covered in my blood and the blood of my four victims.

I waited in the house until nightfall before I started wondering around. I looked through the house to find a change of clothes that wouldn't draw attention to myself when I went outside. I walked out of the one room house and saw that I was in a housing area. There weren't a lot of people left outside. Most of whom had gone to bed for the night. I could hear everything they were doing. I heard some people fighting over money. I heard children and parents sleeping soundly. I even heard people in a house below me sharing the last few minutes of a sexual encounter.

I walked down the stairs of the building and onto the streets of the city. I looked at my surroundings for anything that might remind me of anything at all. There were people outside. Late night goers doing whatever it is they did. I past a man that smelled heavily of a harsh, deplorable smelling chemical and another man that wore a sweeter smell that was just as unappealing.

"Titus, my good friend." I looked ahead towards where I heard the voice coming from. A larger man approached me. He looked to be in his early forties and was very heavy set. His clothes were no better than mine.

"Hello." I couldn't believe the voice that came from my mouth. I didn't remember what I'd sounded like before, but it wasn't this. Not this musical bass sound that made even me melt. This was the voice of a god. The man continued to walk closer to me with a smile. But when he was right in front of me, that smile faded into envy, confusion, and fear. He licked his lips once out of nervousness and breathed heavily. His scent wasn't a favorable taste, so I didn't bother trying anything. He finally spoke when he'd looked his fill.

"Titus…….you look different." I didn't let my expression change from my polite expression.

"What makes you say that?" He looked at his feet.

"Well……..you're skin suddenly looks paler………..and your voice sounds different. And forgive my saying but, you look……beautiful." I was surprised by his choice of words, but still didn't change my expression. I even let myself smile a little.

"How kind of you to say." He laughed nervously and kept looking at his feet.

"Well you know me. Always noticing every….." His face had been gradually lifting from looking at the ground. He had finally looked into my eyes. "Sweet Jupiter. Your eyes…………they're……..they're red." I smiled at him. I wasn't sure what my smile was portraying, but whatever it was, it made him take a step backwards.

"What's your name friend?" He looked surprised, but quietly gave me an answer.

"It's me…..Evander….I've been your friend for years. We grew up together." I didn't change the look on my face.

"Then you would know a lot about me wouldn't you?" He remained very confused, but answered my questions.

"Yes, I suppose I would. Why?"

"Good. Then answer me these questions. What is my name?" Evander remained confused and started fidgeting by looking around and blinking more.

"Titus, what on earth are you talking about?"

"Answer my question, Evander." He took another timid step back at the harshness of my tone and yet the remaining calmness in my face. Finally, he answered me.

"Titus Valerius." His heartbeat was speeding up as he spoke.

"Good. Now, what is the name of the tan, black haired woman that lived at my house?" Now he looked almost appalled.

"That was Perseia. My sister. Your wife." I nodded in acknowledgement. That explained a lot.

"And the other tan woman that looks a little like Perseia?" His face changed from appalled to outrage.

"Persephone. My youngest sister." I grinned wider. "Titus, why are you asking me all these questions? What is going on?" I closed my eyes and took in another deep breath. His scent was still rather unappealing, so I decided to end the encounter.

"You might want to go to my house, Evander. I think something happened." He looked confused and angry all at once.

"What do you mean something happened?" I grinned from ear to ear and almost laughed. I refrained from doing so. Evander looked as if he would soon have a panic attack, but he also looked dazzled.

"Let's just say that, whatever happened, I don't think I'm human anymore." Evander just stared in horror as I walked past him and made my way down the long streets. I heard him calling for me to explain what I meant, but I ignored him.

I walked along the streets keeping to myself. I noticed several women and men stopping to admire my beauty. One woman even stopped me on the streets for my attention and started talking to me. I assumed the woman was a whore. She smelled of so many scents that weren't hers. Under all those heavy scents, though, she smelled delicious. She kept smiling at me even when she looked into my eyes. I assumed that my eyes looked black to her because of the lack of lighting.

"So what do you say? Will you keep me company?" She smiled flirtatiously and moved sensually as she spoke. The burn wasn't unmanageable, but I wanted her blood. It smelled promisingly sweet. I nodded my head at her with a half smile.

"Of course. Whatever you like." She smiled triumphantly and took my hand. She looked taken back when she touched me, but she didn't let shock stay on her face for long. She laughed nervously, then started trying to pull me in.

"This way, please." She pulled me into the small building and took me to a room that pleased her. I heard moans and screams of pleasure coming from all around me. I smirked. No one would think it strange if she screamed. When she took me into the room, she closed the door behind her and walked back in front of me with a serious, but flirtatious look on her face. "Before we start, handsome, I need you to pay." I chuckled. I should have figured I suppose. I wasn't even planning to sleep with her.

"How much are you demanding?" She smiled lightly at the seductive tone of my voice.

"300 Gerri." I couldn't contain a laugh.

"A bit pricy for someone of your quality, wouldn't you say?" Her face became offended.

"Hardly. If you can't pay the price, than leave now." My smile was humored. I closed the distance between us until I was right in front of her. She didn't even try to fight me away. She seemed too much in awe.

"I think it best that I just take what I came here for." She looked at me dazzled and confused.

"What are you talking about?" I gave her one last charming smile before answering her question.

In less than even an instant, my mouth was on her neck and I bit. She was screaming, then the scream was muffled from the blood in her throat. Eventually she was only twitching, then she wasn't moving at all. I threw her body at the floor and sighed. I walked out of the room and briefly looked around for anyone. When there was no one, I walked out and down the hall. I passed a woman sitting at a little wooden desk that demanded my attention.

"Excuse me, sir, but you don't leave until you pay." I looked at her with a charming smile. Her face became almost shy.

"Don't worry. The woman that took care of me has the money. She'll give it to you." With that, I walked out of the building and walked down the street in the direction I heard the gates of the city.

I had pretty much figured out what I was. Stregoni Benifici they were often called. The name Lamia also came to my mind. A blood drinker that had exceptional beauty. I had seen the looks people on the street had given me. They were attracted to me. But they were supposed to be on the side of good. Blessed by the gods. I couldn't help but laugh at how false that was. It took me no time to find the gates I was searching for. I climbed the wall until I was at the top. I looked around for something that might cause concern, but I didn't find anything.

"Hey you!" I looked at who called to me. It looked to be a soldier in a lookout point at the top of the wall. "What are you doing?" I smiled charmingly. His face became dazzled.

"I was just leaving." I didn't give him a chance to say anything more. I jumped off of the wall and onto the other side. Then I ran into the woods that surrounded the area and never looked back.

**1473 a.d.**

I was outside a large castle. The smell of human blood flooded its walls. I recalled that a Count used to live here. That was according to the villagers. I'd overheard their gossip. The man's name was Vlad Draculya. Also called Vlad the Impeller. That explained the smell of blood. But the scent was week. The villagers believed that Draculya had committed suicide after his loss to the Turks. I found this extremely unlikely. His scent was here, but it wasn't his blood. Only the blood of his victims.

The roof tops were a dark red and the stone walls were a unique white color. I found the color of the castle ironic. It looked like it would have many rooms that would be satisfactory for a large family. I didn't need so much space of course, but I was tired of being a nomad. And I liked Romania. It had favorable weather conditions and Transylvania was a large village. I would never have to worry about killing them off too quickly.

After looking at the castle for a few minutes, I decided it was clear to go in. I ran over to the castle and leaped inside through one of the many windows of the castle and started looking around. The hallways of the castle were narrow down below and were wider and roomier on the upper floors. There were pictures all over the house of families and particularly a lot of pictures of a man with black hair in a large hat. I looked at the captions below those pictures which told me that these were Draculya's self portraits.

I followed the heavy scent of blood in the castle until I found where it was coming from. It was a basement, dungeon area that had dead bodies and bloodied corpses all around. The smell burned my throat. It burned even more when I realized there wasn't enough blood to satisfy me. I would need to go hunting. The castle was close to a favorable village that had a large population, so that was a very good thing.

After I'd looked around the castle, I found a window that was facing the village, and jumped out and started running towards the village. It was the middle of the night, so most of the inhabitants were asleep. I looked around the village until I found scents that pleased me the most. When I found the two I liked the most, I went into their houses and took them away with me to the castle.

One stayed asleep the whole time. The other woke when we got to the castle and was about to scream. I broke her neck before she could and drank her sweet blood. When she was drained, I went to the other girl and drank until the burn in my throat was finally gone.

Over the next few months, I came to like this routine. I came to find that the villagers were starting to call me Count Dracula. They even started thinking that I was making brides of the women I'd taken. They started believing that I could change into the form of animals, like rats, bats and wolves. Those, of course, were just the animals that I had changed.

It'd happened completely by accident several centuries ago. I had changed a dog that had belonged to one of my victims. He began to follow me and would listen to me when I told him to do something. It was a convenient creature to have when there were things I wanted to get done. I tried to keep those creatures to a minimum, though. It was never an easy task to force them away from the villages if they got out.

After a few decades, the Transylvanians had become used to me and tried desperately to think of me as a creature that would leave them be as long as they did the same for me. It was fast becoming dull and routine, but I stayed there for centuries, not sure of what else there was for me to do. I figured this life was better than constantly roaming around and having no place to call my home. Living in the castle was comforting and homey. So I stayed and took two girls from the village every month, only to sustain my thirst. I let the villagers come to their own conclusions about me and just lived my life as the supposed Count Vlad the Impeller Dracula.

**1887 a.d.**

I was looking from a perch on the castle out onto the village in the distance. It was midnight and everyone but the guards were asleep for the night. The villagers had started coming to expect me centuries before. But for the past few decades, they've been trying to fight me off. They're led by a man called Valcan De La Stigoni. Before him was his father, Ferdinand. But they were never able to catch me or fight me. Mostly because they were relying on wives tales to fight me off. They had crosses surrounding the village and on the rooftop of every home. They had rings of garlic surrounding their windows and doors. Every villager had at least one silver stake next to their beds for protection and of course, every home was blessed and given holy water to throw at me should they see me.

It made me laugh, how aggravated they were with their lack of success. Twenty years ago, they had even sent for a vampire slayer, whose methods were just as inferior as that of the villagers. He was dead and drained within hours of arriving. I was sure to put him on display for the whole village to see. They never saw me. They only saw the slayer the morning after he arrived, crucified to the front doors of the church. Needless to say, the villagers were traumatized. I was surprised they persisted after that. Slayers refused to come back, though.

It was a full moon tonight, so the village was bright as if it were still day. I could see everything the guards were doing even from this distance. There was one guard that had a nasty habit of falling asleep on the job. There was always another guard that would hit him awake every half hour. It was cute to watch. This guard couldn't be any older than his early teens. Possibly sixteen.

Once I had taken a look at the entire village, I leaped into the woods and made my way to the village. It took me only seconds to run the three miles to get to the village. I waited in one of the trees for the guards to walk further from where I was before I entered the village. They didn't see me as I ran in and looked through the village for a scent that pleased me. I came across one that was pleasing. I looked around the house for the one spot where the scent was strongest. I found a window that was closed, but the scent was coming primarily from there. I forced open the window so quietly that the girl didn't hear it open. She didn't notice me with her in her room until I was standing at her bedside and she opened her eyes to see whose scent she smelled.

She opened her mouth to scream, but I covered her mouth with my hand to silence her. I kept it there and closed her nose so she wouldn't be able to breathe until she passed out, but didn't die. When she'd stopped twitching, I threw her over my shoulder and jumped out of the window and back into the rooftops and started looking for one more victim. After I had been traveling around the village, I was about to settle for something that was decent compared to the blood of the woman I was holding.

But I smelled something. It was so intoxicating, this smell. I was on the rooftop of one of the larger houses in the village and looking out onto the village. I took in a deep breath and tried to ignore the burn in my throat for the time being. The scent was the most delicious I'd ever smelled in all my 1900 plus years of walking the earth. It was fruity and floral, but so deliciously human.

I began circling the house, trying to find the best entrance that was closest to the scent. I finally found it at one of the higher rooms near the back of the house. I laughed lightly at the window. It was covered in garlic like all the others and was also closed like all the others. But this one wasn't locked. How silly of this person. A lock wouldn't have stopped me, but it seemed odd for a human not to attempt it.

After a moment, I felt the girl I was holding start to stir. It would have been too loud to put her to sleep again, so I needed to work fast and get out of the village. It wouldn't matter if the guards saw me leave. They knew better than to try and chase me to the castle. They'd lost a lot of men when they had attempted that. But I still preferred not to put up with the trouble.

I gently pushed open the door of the window and slipped into the dark room. I saw the source of the mouth watering scent laying in her bed with her back facing me and her breathing was steady as was her heartbeat. I closed the distance between us and took her into my arms with the other girl. She groaned a little, but otherwise didn't wake up. When I had her in hand, I knew the other girl was starting to realize she wasn't at her home anymore and was beginning to get panicky. I didn't care if she got panicky, but this wasn't the place for it to happen.

When the other girl was secure in my grasp, I leaped out of the window and landed on the ground below and started running back to the castle. It took no time to make it to the end of the village and evade the guards that were there. They couldn't even see me run right past them. When I was halfway back to the castle, the woman that had been stirring was now completely awake and was looking around. It took her mere seconds to realize what was happening and scream. That scream hurt my ears, but I ignored the sound. The other woman hadn't ignored the sound, and was now moaning herself out of her sleep and looking around. She didn't scream. I wondered if it was simply shock that kept her silent.

The woman didn't stop screaming the whole time I was running to the house. I heard a man yell at the guards, telling them they were fools for letting me slip past them so easily. I laughed mockingly at their aggravation but continued onward. When I reached the castle, I leaped in through one of the many windows and ran to the small dungeon area at the bottom of the castle. I threw both girls onto the ground and let them look at me. The blonde girl was shaking furiously and trying to hide behind the other darker haired girl. I wanted to save her for last. Her blood was what smelled the sweetest.

I closed the gap between us and grabbed the blonde by the front of her dress and held her in my hands and off of her feet and brought her close to my lips. When her neck was close enough to my mouth, I bit the main artery, and drank in her blood. It was refreshing against the burn in my throat. This time, I heard the other girl scream. She tried getting up and running away, but there were too many bones lying around. Those only made her scream louder.

When I'd drank the blonde dry of all her blood, I tossed her back to the ground and sighed in satisfaction. The other girl had stopped screaming. Now she was cowering in the spot I had originally placed her. She was shaking violently, staring at me in horror. She looked as if she were about to cry. I could smell her tears coming.

I began to walk to her, hesitantly. I felt odd about this girl. Her blood smelled so sweet to me, and yet I couldn't seem to bring myself to kill her. She had a light olive tone to her. Slightly darker than mine. She had dark brown hair and beautiful hazel eyes that glistened in the moonlight with her tears. I felt an odd pain in my chest when I saw one tear fall. I came closer to her and she attempted to back away more. Eventually, she started looking confused, but the fear never left her eyes. Then, I forcefully closed the distance between us until we were face to face and we were looking right at each other. She smelled so sweet. And yet, I couldn't bite her. She was special somehow.

"What is your name?" I asked her in a calm, soothing voice. Her face became even more confused and she gulped.

"What?" I sighed. Her heartbeat was only getting faster and she looked as if she would lose consciousness at any moment. But her voice was beautiful as well. It was the kind of sound that one would want to hear if they wished to fall asleep. The sound was soothing and hypnotic almost and was a high alto sound.

"I said, what is your name?" She hesitated a moment before saying anything more.

"Why does it matter to you what my name is? You're going to kill me."

"Who said I was going to kill you?" Her face started becoming angry.

"Why else would you bring me here?" I brought my hand to her face and held her chin securely in my hand so that she was looking me in the eye. Her eyes never changed from the terror they held.

"You're not answering my question. What is your name?" She was still shaking. The only thing that kept any part of her still was the firm grip of my hand on her chin. Her voice was quiet when she answered me.

"Nicoleta De La Nastase." Nicoleta. Such a beautiful name. I smiled lightly at her and she seemed to shake more. I let go of her and rose from where I was standing. She stayed where she was and didn't stop staring at me.

"You don't need to fear me, Nicoleta. You're the only human that will ever have that privilege." I walked away from her after that and made my way to the window. I needed to get another woman. The burn in my throat wasn't completely gone. But as I was walking away, she yelled for me.

"Please, let me go. I promise not to send anyone after you, just please, let me go." I stopped for a millisecond, then turned around and ran back to her in that same instant. I brought my face close to hers again so she and I would have eye contact. I could feel my cold heart melt again when I looked into her hazel eyes, but I tried to ignore that.

"You're to stay here." Her face became even more horrified.

"Why?"

"Because. You think I can trust you? How do I know you won't go out of your way to send an army? I'm too old to deal with that crap. I need to get more blood. But when I come back, I'll take you to your room." She raised her voice when she answered me.

"You can't possibly think that I'll willingly stay here with you?! As soon as you're gone, I could easily take the opportunity to run away." I didn't bother holding back an arrogant chuckle. I saw her shiver again.

"My dear, you can try. By all means, try. But know that you won't be able to run from me. It's three miles to the village from here. I can run that in seconds. It would take you hours. I'll be able to run to the village, have one more victim, and come back before you even ran half a mile. And on that note, how would you be able to find your way? The trees are high and the village is hard to see."

"I could call for help." Her voice was shaky. I forced myself not to laugh at her this time. I didn't want her to be scared. For the life of me, I couldn't understand why I cared, but I did. I didn't want her to be scared of me.

"If you scream for help, werewolves will find you long before the villagers do." She looked at me with fear in her eyes. Thankfully, that fear was no longer entirely directed at me.

"Werewolves?" I nodded.

"Nasty creatures they are. And I've got news for you. Even if a villager finds you in time, silver bullets won't do a thing to the beast. They have skin thick as steel. There's some slight give to their skin, but not nearly enough to kill them. So I think it'd be best that you stay here."

I lifted away from her and started walking away from her again. I heard her stop trembling at last. I heard her feet move as she stood up from her sitting position in the corner. I heard her heartbeat sped up with anticipation.

"Mark my words, Dracula. You won't get away with this." I stopped again and furry pumped through my dead veins. I don't know why it angered me. It never bothered me before, the villagers not knowing my real name. But now, it was infuriating to me to hear it from her. I turned around and closed the distance between us again. I grabbed her shoulders and held her still. Her eyes stared at me and she began trembling again.

"I am not Dracula. There is no Dracula. I am Titus Valerius. Remember that." I dropped her to the ground and ran out of the dungeon and out a window to travel back to the village. The guards were frantic now and better on the defensive. Even then, it wasn't hard to sneak past them and get into the village.

I didn't search long for a victim. I picked out the first good scent I came across and settled for that, making sure to drink quickly. I wasn't sure whether or not Nicoleta would run or not. If she did, I didn't want to risk her getting hurt. I wasn't lying about there being werewolves in those woods.


	2. Dracula's Castle

**Dracula's Castle**

**NPOV**

Obviously, I was terrified. I had just witnessed a vampire drink a human's blood, and with no shred of remorse for the life he'd just taken. I was surrounded by bones and rotting corpses and freshly dead. The smell of blood and decay surrounded the room, and it was revolting. I couldn't breathe in this room without having a gag reflex. I started breathing with the skirt of my dress covering my mouth and nose.

He'd left only seconds before. For some odd reason, I was even more terrified with him not here than with him here. At least he was something pleasant to look at. I only wished I could have seen all of his face. The only parts that the moon's light through the window had shown me was his eyes. Those horrific, scarlet red, eyes. But, somehow, I could tell that those eyes belonged to a very handsome man. Probably just the way his eyes were shaped I suppose. And his voice was another thing. Even when it was angry and harsh, it was the most beautiful voice I'd ever heard. It was like listening to a song in a symphony of a deep, baritone sound. Not at all the voice I imagined would belong to Count Dracula. No. Titus?

I had no idea where he'd left. I only knew he'd left. I couldn't see very far and what little light from the moon was getting in was hardly enough for me to see. I didn't even hear him leave. His footsteps were inaudible. I didn't even know he was moving until I felt the emptiness of the room worsen with his departure. I didn't try to move from the spot I was at. I was scared that I might fall down a pit or something if I dared move. But suddenly, there was a stand of lit candle sticks in front of me. All I saw now were shoes.

"I'll show you to your room now. That should provide you with sufficient light for the time being." I was surprised to find that it was the Count. Or Titus. Whatever he was called. Calling him the monster seemed a suitable enough name to me. I hadn't heard him leave or come in. And he was only absent for a mere five minutes.

I picked up the stand of three large, long, lit candles and stood up. It was easier to see now, but not by much. Now I saw his back as he walked away slowly. I tentatively followed after him despite my nervousness and concern. I was hoping that, if he were in fact going to kill me, he would have done it a while ago.

I followed him through the dungeon and up a flight of stairs, which at the top of, he opened a large wooden door. He held it open for me as I walked through and into a long, narrow hallway. I looked forward at the portrait that was in front of me. It was a portrait of a torture scene which I assumed symbolized everything that happened in that dungeon. In the middle was a man being impelled by another, lowlier man in black rags. Behind him, pointing at the victim of the torture, was a man in fancy garb from fifteenth century Romanian royalty with a large red hat and dark hair. The portrait was gruesome.

"This way, my dear." I looked towards the heavenly voice, but he was already walking in the direction he wanted us to go. I followed closely behind him.

I suddenly realized he had an accent. It wasn't heavy, but noticeable. It reminded me slightly of another accent. The accent of a catholic priest that had come to Transylvania from the Vatican. It was so long ago that happened. He came to our village and started sprinkling the grounds and houses with holy water. He was the one that told all of us to start putting rings of garlic on our windows, keep silver stakes, holy water, and nail crosses on our rooftops. I was but a small child when he'd come to us. Five if I remember correctly.

He'd also dared what only one person had done before him. He dared to go to the castle and fight off our vampire directly. And he met the same fate as the vampire hunter. The vampire hunter's body had been drunk dry and crucified to the church doors the morning after he'd left. The priest's public display was the one I remembered. I remembered it all too clearly. I was one of the first ones to see it. I'd gone out to gather some water from the well outside the church, and that's when I'd seen it. The priest's head had been placed on the cross that towered over the roof of the church, his blood running down the cross. His body was never found. I'd never been able to get that image out of my mind after that. I'd cried for days.

If I hadn't seen him kill Marishka with such indifferent leisure, I would never think he was capable of such horrors. His voice wasn't that of a killer. It was more like the voice of an archangel.

After the walk down the long, narrow hall ended, we came across another flight of stairs. I followed after him, staring at the stairs the whole way up. When we reached the top of these stairs, he opened another door and we walked through it. It was still dark, but the windows provided good light from the moon. I followed the now distinguishable figure down the hall, looking at the pictures as we went. They were mostly pictures of a man with dark hair and varied fifteenth century outfits. I thought out loud.

"Is this Dracula?"

"Yes, it is." I looked at him, then blushed. I hadn't meant to speak aloud. I didn't expect him to continue. "He died in 1472 in Hungary after his loss to the Turks. That's what was represented by the man in the portrait you saw getting impelled. Dracula enjoyed impelling his Turkish prisoners as well as all his other prisoners." I held my head down as he spoke. I didn't really want to talk to him. Knowing that I was in the same vicinity with the vampire that had starred in my nightmares my whole life made my skin crawl. Even with such a beautiful voice.

I followed him through the many hallways and up one more flight of stairs before we got to a place that I assumed was the bedroom he spoke of giving me. His face was shadowed as he opened the double doors to the room and I walked forward to look inside. The room was stunning, I wouldn't lie. The room was draped in red and gold fabrics with dark woods and portraits of a beautiful woman whose identity I didn't know. The bed was at a wall in the middle of the room with a large, dark wooden chest at the end of the bed.

The frame of the bed, I could even tell from here, was intricately designed and done so flawlessly from what I could tell. The sheets were red and there was a long, transparent sheet coming down from the canopy of the bed. It covered the end of the bed. On the right and left of the bed, the transparent sheet was tied back for access, but taking them down was an option.

On both sides of the bed were nightstands of the same dark wood. Each were covered in white candles. The wax that ran down the candles indicated that they'd been used before. Each stand had six candles arranged in a fancy style.

I couldn't tell what color the rug was in this light, but I could tell that it was huge. To my right in the room, there was a small table that was covered in stationary and an ink bottle with the feather fountain pen waiting inside. To my left was a large closet that had a carving of a woman on the front. There was no mirror beside it, though. There must be a mirror on the inside of the armoire. I walked in slowly while taking in the look and feel of the room. I didn't look around this time when he spoke to me.

"This will be your room from now on. You are free to move about the castle as you please. Any rooms that you shouldn't go into will be locked. Keep in mind that those rooms are locked for a reason. If you need anything, all you need do is ask." With that, I heard the doors close behind me.

I did look around then, but when I did, he was gone and the doors to the room were closed. I looked back at the bed and started walking to it. The reality of the situation was only becoming greater with time passing and I started feeling a great pain in my chest.

When I reached one of the bedside tables, I lit all the candles using the ones I had in my hand. When those were lit, I went to the other nightstand and lit the rest of the candles. When the room was lit up, I could see everything much better than before.

When I had all the candles in the room lit, I walked over to the stationary table and put the stand down on the table and blew out those candles. When they were out, I walked back to the bed and sat down, looking at the room again. The room was beautiful, but somehow so dreary. One could tell that it's been centuries since a human being had last been in this room.

It smelled nice in the room. Much better than the dungeon. It was a sweet smell. I couldn't think of what the smell was. There was a hint of vanilla and pears. They smelled as if they'd been cooked in sugar and cream. The other smell, I wanted to say, was chocolate. But I wasn't sure. That smell had been stronger when I was standing close to him.

He had smelled sweet and his voice was like velvet. Nothing like what I'd always pictured when I was little. I always pictured Count Dracula having a monster's growl for a voice and smelling of blood and decay. And I never imagined him as anyone but Count Dracula. Now he was Titus Valerius. I would admit that the name was far more appealing than Count Vlad the impeller Dracula. But that didn't make him any less the monster I grew up knowing him as.

I sat in the room in silence for a long time. Longer than I think would be normal for anyone. I imagined that I must look like stone right about now. I didn't feel any emotion on my face. Everything was in my chest. A painful pressure that wouldn't let up.

I started thinking of my family. They would find out I was gone soon. I wondered if they would try to send help. I doubted it. No one had the courage, or the foolish nature, to venture near this castle or even wonder into the woods. And I knew I didn't have a prayer that my 'fiancé' would come save me.

His name was Hallem Boroi. I'd known the man for two minutes before father told me I was marrying him. He didn't strike me as a man that would waste his time going on a suicide mission to save a bride he could easily replace. His age certainly wouldn't help him any, either. Boroi was forty eight years old. A mere five years older than my own father. The thought made me shudder. His only appeal was that he was a wealthy man that lived in Dobrogea. The Romanian state that was the farthest away from Transylvania. My family was to leave Transylvania in a fortnight to make our way to Dobrogea. But without me, my family wasn't going anywhere.

I'd hated father for forcing me, his freshly turned eighteen year old daughter, to marry a man that was pushing fifty. My only chance at happiness if I were to marry him was the hope that he would die soon. But now, given the present circumstances, I would choose that over this any day. At least if I went to Dobrogea, I was guaranteed that my husband would most likely be dead within the next few years. Here, I had no idea what to expect or what would happen to me.

What if he changed his mind about killing me? And even if he never did, what was I going to do here? I had no intention of leaving this room. I had no idea how many, if there were more, vampires lived here. Nor did I know what other unholy beasts he might have roaming around the castle. I didn't feel completely safe in this room, but it was better than being out there.

After having sat on my new bed for more time than I could count, I fell onto the bed and let my head rest on the soft, feather pillows. I suddenly realized I was crying when I felt the tears roll down my face as I went down. I touched the trail the tears had left and looked at it. I'm not sure why.

After laying there for several minutes, I felt my eyes become very heavy. Eventually, my eyes closed, but I didn't fall asleep right away. I think I was too scared to. That if I fell asleep, I would never wake up again. But I forced myself to fall asleep, hoping that if I did wake up, that I would discover that this was all just some horrible nightmare.

I awoke to a smell. It was a familiar and homey smell that reminded me of my mother. It was the smell of eggs and sausages. I opened my eyes with the hope that last night really had been a dream. But my heart sank when I looked at the room I was in. It was the room the monster had put me in. It was the room I remembered from last night. It looked so different with the sun showing through it. The reds were more vibrant and the image of the woman on the armoire was easy to see. It wasn't a religious relic of any kind. It was just a woman. I later discovered that it did, in fact, have a mirror in it. It had the mirror and a place where dresses could be hung and a spot where makeup and perfumes could be placed.

I looked at the food that was placed next to my bed on a stand that wasn't there the night before. All of the candles had been blown out before they were half way used. I remembered falling asleep with the candles on. He must have come in here. That realization terrified me. I reached down the collar of my dress and took out the rosary I wore around my neck. My father had given this to me when I was only a little girl. He told me that as long as I always kept it with me, I would be safe from evil.

I got up from my bed and walked over to the door of my room. When I reached the doors, I took my rosary from around my neck and tied it around the knobs of the door. I didn't know how well that would work, but if it kept him out of this room, that would be enough for me to feel at least a little bit safe here.

Once I had tied the rosary to the doorknob, I turned back to the bed and saw the food that was next to my bed. I wouldn't lie that I was hungry. But at the same time, I wasn't comfortable with the idea of eating anything that came from here. I walked closer to my bed, all the while smelling the delicious scent of the sausage and eggs that were next to my bed. I looked around the room to find something to occupy my time with. I found a book on the stationary table and walked to that.

When I opened it, I saw writing and dates. It looked to be a diary. There wasn't a name on the diary, but it looked to be feminine hand writing, so I assumed it was the hand writing of the woman whose picture was on the wall in the room. It wasn't the most thrilling thing I'd ever read, but it was better than nothing.

I read the diary in two days, all the while, the monster leaving me breakfast, lunch, and dinner every one of those days. Breakfast would always be at my bedside when I woke up. Lunch and dinner would be outside my door and I would hear a knock on the door when it was brought. But I wouldn't eat it. The food I hadn't eaten would always be gone and replaced with fresh food the next morning.

Once I'd finished reading the diary, I looked for something else to occupy my time. When all else failed, I started writing. I wrote letters to my mother and father, I wrote a diary, though I knew that it was such a boring read, and I would write poems. Nothing good, just something to keep my mind occupied. For a month, I didn't leave my room. It was a week before I ate any of the food that was being left for me. I'd gotten so hungry that I caved in and ate the food. It was delicious, and it hadn't made me sick. It was clear to me that he really didn't intend to kill me. Now, instead of feeling fear, I felt a sense of boredom. I really had nothing to fear. I had nothing to do except write or read a boring diary of a woman whose name I didn't know.

After the month of staying secluded in my room, I gained the courage to come out of my room for the sake of my own sanity. Being in that room with nothing to do but write was driving me mad.

I opened the door to my room tentatively before coming out. I wanted to make sure that there was no one in the hallways. I at least knew that the monster wouldn't be out during the day. Father always told me that vampires hide in their coffins during the day so they won't burn. For a moment, the thought crossed my head to look for the coffin and maybe kill the monster with a silver stake. I doubted there were silver stakes anywhere in the castle, but perhaps I could kill him simply by breaking a whole in the wall and letting the sun hit him when I opened his coffin. If I was able to kill the monster, that would give me the freedom to leave and not worry about him following me or taking me back.

So that's what I did all day. I looked high and low through the castle trying to find where he kept his coffin. I started looking in the towers. While looking through the castle, I couldn't help but admire it. The castle was flawless in its structure despite the years past. I assumed that the monster took good care of the castle. I couldn't imagine where he found the time, but I didn't think too much about the matter.

When the towers held nothing, I started looking through the many rooms in the castle from top to bottom. I found a library on my search. This excited me. The library was filled with books that would surely better occupy my time from now on. I even saw a piano in the corner of the library that looked in perfect condition and without a speck of dust like everything else in this castle. I'd expected everything to be covered in dust from centuries of neglect. But that wasn't the case at all. The castle was clean and presentable. I wondered why the dungeon hadn't been this clean.

I walked over to the piano in the corner of the room and played keys randomly for a moment. It was tuned. I found that odd, but took a seat on the piano bench anyway and played a sweet song that my mother had taught me when I was little. I wasn't as good at playing the piano as my mother was, but I did like the piano. Especially now. It had a nostalgic feeling to it.

I played for several songs, letting myself get taken away in the sound of the music. Playing the piano helped me to forget where I really was and let me pretend that I was somewhere else, with my family. As I was playing my fourth song, I felt an odd presence behind me and turned around violently with a small scream. There was nothing behind me when I turned around. I put my right hand over my heart willing for it to slow and calm.

When I was able to calm down, I took myself away from the piano, not wanting to again attract whatever had been behind me before, because I knew something had been there. I left the library all together after that, and remembered my search. There were still a few rooms that I hadn't checked. All the rooms I'd searched, including the dungeon, had been open and held no coffin that I was looking for. Around sundown, after searching high and low through the castle, I was about to give up. But I noticed a door at the end of a hallway that was near the basement of the castle, further below than the dungeon.

I walked down that hallway and let myself into the room. When I opened the door, there was another hallway. It twisted and turned like a maze, but I followed until I found an end. The end I found was frightening. I found a large, black door. I looked at the door a moment and realized that it was painted steel. I walked over to the door to try and open it, but when I tried, it wouldn't open. I then realized that the door was welded shut. I wondered why he would do such a thing. Then it came to me. This must be where he kept his coffin. That also meant that it would take much longer than I would have liked to get in. Days even. Time I didn't have. He would no doubt notice it if I took days.

Then suddenly, as I was feeling the door, I heard a slamming against the door and it made me jump. I saw a dent form in the door and it made me stare in horrified wonder. I looked out the window and saw that, though it was setting, the sun was still up and bright. The banging on the door continued and I started to hear roaring barks coming from the other side of the door. Those barks did make me scream. When I screamed, the barking and slamming became more violent.

It didn't take long for me to start running the direction from whence I came. When I reached the wooden door that had led me in, I slammed that shut and started running more until I was at the top of the stairs I had come down and made my way for my room as fast as I possibly could. I didn't hear any footsteps following me, but that didn't make me run any slower. I ran as fast as my feet could carry me.

While I was running up a flight of stairs, I stepped on the skirt of my dress and it tore, making me trip on the stairs. I was about to hit the steps face first, but something grabbed me and steadied me. What had grabbed me felt like cold, hard granite. Statue like even though I felt it moved. When my hands were gently placed on the stairs, whatever was holding me let go. I didn't turn around to see what it was behind me as I sprinted off up the stairs as fast as I could, ignoring the tear in my dress.

When I was finally out of the staircase, I ran down the hall, never looking back. When I finally reached my room, I swung open the doors and slammed them. I looked around the room for something, anything I could use to block the door. I settled on several chairs that were placed at the stationary table and jammed them into the doorknob. I saw the water that was left on my tray from breakfast and took that in my hands. I recited every prayer I knew repeatedly, hoping it would work to make the water holy. I tried remembering the prayers the priest had used, but they'd been in Latin, so I couldn't remember them clearly.

When I was sure I couldn't pray anymore, I splashed the water onto the chairs and doors and back away to my bed, clutching my rosary at my breast. I kept breathing in and out over and over again, trying to stop the shaking and the racing of my heart. I still didn't hear any footsteps or any other sounds coming towards my door. Eventually, I started to calm down, but not by much. I stayed in bed trembling until I was finally able to fall asleep.

I woke up to a feeling of water on my hand. It was hot, but not uncomfortable. I woke up and saw a bathtub filled with water and looked around to realize that I was in the bathroom to my room. After looking at the tub, I looked at my dress and finally saw the tear that was on my dress. It was horrible. It was torn beyond my ability to repair it. Mother had always tried teaching me how to sow, but I could never seem to do it right. I could make small repairs, but a tear that went around and straight down was beyond my power.

I stood up from lying against the tub and took a deep breath to help regain my balance and get some feeling back into my legs. When I finally had balance and could feel my legs again, I looked around the bathroom and noticed the door to the bathroom was open. I looked out the door into my room and saw a new dress sitting on my bed and a bathrobe next to it. Atop the dress was an envelope. I took that in my hand and opened the flap and saw a piece of paper that had been folded in threes. When I had it out and opened it, I saw a letter written in the most beautiful handwriting I'd ever seen.

_Dear Nicoleta,_

_I apologize for the fright you had from last night. I assure you that the creatures on the other side of that door are well kept and will not bother you as long as you stay away from that room. I noticed that your dress was badly torn from your fall on the stairs. I've left you a new dress and a robe for you to use. If you do not like the gown, I will fetch you a different one. The bath should calm you down some too. Once again, if there's anything you need, simply leave a note and it will be yours. I will also send to have your other dress repaired if you wish. Again, please forgive last night's incident._

_Titus Valerius_

I swore reading this note, I could hear his voice in my head. I remembered his voice so clearly. Much more than I expected I would. After reading the note, I put that down and looked at the dress that was left on my bed. It was a dark purple dress with shades of red and black lace. There was a corset under the dress as well.

I looked around my room again. The chairs that I'd placed in front of the door were now arranged neatly around the table like they'd been before and there was no water on the floor or door. I started shaking now. It hadn't worked. I suppose I should've assumed it wouldn't work. I wasn't a priest. I did find it odd that there was no sign of forced entry. The door was in the same perfect condition it'd always been in and there was nothing else that was broken.

I took another deep breath, trying to get a grip of myself. When I was calm, I looked around the room once more before taking off my dress. It felt nice to take it off. The dress had been the only thing I had to wear for the past month and it was dirty.

When the dress was off, I put on the robe. It was a silk green robe that had several shades of green to form what I thought looked like a caterpillar or a butterfly. It looked like something that only the wife of a wealthy man would have. I walked into the bathroom and closed the door. I checked the water again before stepping in. It was still nice and warm. There were fragrant soaps for me to use. They all smelled like vanilla.

The water felt nice when I stepped in. I hadn't bathed since I came here and I really had felt dirty. I rubbed the soap on every inch of me I could get it on, including my face and hair. When I was clean, I just sat in the tub and let myself relax. I'd been through so much in the past month. It was funny how a hot bath could make you forget about your problems.

I didn't get out of the tub until I noticed my fingers start to prune. I took the towel that was on a hanger and dried off as best I could. I dried my hair as best I could, but it was still damp when I was done. When I walked out, the armoire was open and stocked. There was a brush and comb and it was filled with new dresses and my old dress was gone. All the dresses in the armoire were of every color a woman could want. There were pinks, greens, reds, purples and many other colors, light and dark. Every dress looked expensive and royal. It was overwhelming.

It took a lot of effort to put on a corset by myself. Somehow, I managed to get it as tight as I needed it to be. I did the same to the dress. I looked at the dress on me for a few minutes after I put it on. It was truly a beautiful dress. It felt strange having such a low neckline, but it was a flattering look. But my hair looked so out of place in this dress. It was just starting to get dry after I'd brushed it and it was down in wavy locks.

I looked through the armoire and found several hair pieces that I could use. I went with the easiest thing I could do. I French braided my hair as best I could and tied a ponytail at the bass of my neck so that the rest of my hair was hanging low. I put purple flower barrettes in when I was done. I took time to look over my work. It wasn't as nice as it would be if I'd had someone else do it for me, but it was better than just having my hair down.

When I was dressed, I worked up the courage to leave my room again. I looked both ways of the hallway to make sure it was clear and walked to the library when I was sure it was safe. When I was in the library, I looked at the book selection and was impressed with what was here. There were war stories like the Iliad and the Odyssey. A Tale of Two Cities. Several books by Jane Austin, and plays by Shakespeare.

While I was looking through the library, I couldn't stop myself from thinking about yesterday. I wondered if his coffin really was in that room whose door was welded shut. It made sense for him to make sure that one couldn't just walk in there freely. But what else was in there? Dogs, obviously. But those dogs had barks that were far more vicious that any dog bark I'd ever heard.

It was clear to me that he wasn't planning to kill me. That I had figured out a long time ago. But that had raised several other questions. If he wasn't going to kill me, then what did he want with me? I couldn't imagine what he would want me for other than to kill me and drink my blood. It bothered me more than the thought of him killing me.

After worrying about it for the rest of that afternoon, I got sick of worrying. I knew I wouldn't be able to get out of here and there was no way anyone from the village was going to save me. So I might as well make the best of the situation. So that's what I did. It became my daily routine. There were plenty of books in the library and I could play the piano whenever I didn't feel like reading.

I threw out the letters I'd written to mother and wrote new ones. I decided I would tell them I ran away to Serbia. I wrote that I didn't want to be tied to a man that I didn't love and that was far too old for me. I knew that if the monster were to take these to them, they would be angry at me, but I rather they be angry at me than spend their lives thinking I was murdered. It would also make them less likely to do something reckless.

I wanted to write enough letters so that it looked like I'd been trying to write letters for months. I took my time writing the letters. I didn't want them to sound fake. I tried being as sincere in my letters as possible. I started looking through the library for maps and country history. And I made up finding a job at the house of a wealthy man that took care of me and his other servants very well. I figured it was as close to the truth as I was going to come in my letters.

I took three months to write all the letters. And whenever I ran out of ink, there would be more the next day. Same thing for when I ran out of paper. And if the piano in the library was out of tune, that would be fixed the next day too. And every night when I would come back to my room, a bath would be drawn for me that would have hot water and soaps ready.

I caught myself becoming reliant on the monster. Every need was met, both physical and material. I started spending my time thinking about what he must really be like. Growing up, I was always told he was a monster. Count Dracula was a monster with claws, fangs, pasty skin and an evil glare with piercing red eyes. The red eyes I remembered. But I had a strange feeling that he wasn't what the village had painted him as. But at the same time, I remembered everything that he'd done. I was beginning to have a hard time thinking of the monster that way. He was so diligent in seeing to my needs.

After six months, I decided I wanted to send my letters. I knew they would make my family ashamed of me, but I would rather they be ashamed than mourn for me when I wasn't really dead.

I was about to right a note to make my request, but something told me that the monster was nearby and listening. I'd been isolated for so long and hadn't spoken to anyone in so long. I wouldn't care how silly it made me look. I was desperate to talk to anyone, even if I couldn't see who I was talking to. The only image I had of the monster was his eyes and his back silhouette and his voice. I pictured those things I knew of the monster, took a deep breath and stared halfway to the ceiling.

"I know you said that if I need something, all I needed to do was ask." I looked at the ground and took another deep breath. "I have a request to ask of you. I have letters that I've written to my mother and father. I don't want them to think I'm dead, so I've fabricated a story that I was in Serbia.

"I'll understand if you don't take the letters to my family. What reason do you have to trust me? But it would really mean a lot to me for my family to know that I'm alright and that they have no reason to worry about me."

I walked over to the table that held all my letters. I gathered them up and organized them into a neat stack on the table and tied them together with a ribbon that I'd found in the armoire a while ago.

"I'll leave them here on the table for you. If they're still here in the morning, then I'll understand. If they're not here in the morning……..thank you." With that said, I left the letters on the table and walked away from them. I went about my day after that as I normally would. I spent my day in the library playing the piano. I'd found some music sheets and was playing with those.

At the end of the day when I came back to my room, the letters were still there. I was sad to see them, but reminded myself that I'd given him until the morning. I went to sleep that night hopeful that the monster would follow through with my request. It took a lot of time for me to fall asleep that night, but I was eventually able to fall asleep. When I woke up that morning, a tray of breakfast was next to my bed as usual.

I lifted myself from my bed and looked right at the table that had held my letters. When I saw the table, my letters were gone, and I smiled widely. I looked around my room again with a wide smile on my face. There was another letter on the table that hadn't been there the night before, though. I got out of bed and walked to the table and looked at the letter. It had my name written on it in a gorgeous script that I remembered from the last letter I'd received from the monster. I opened the letter and looked at the note with a smile still on my face.

_Dear Nicoleta,_

_I have sent your letters to you mother and father. They will receive them when they check their mail today. Feel free to continue to write them letters if you wish. And I will bring you any letters they send to you in return. If there's anything else you need, feel free to ask for it. _

_Sincerely,_

_Titus Valerius_

I smiled wider after reading the note and I held it close to me. I really could rely on this monster. Titus.

As he said I could, I continued writing letters to my parents. I even received a letter a few days after the monster….Titus..took my letters to my family. The letter made me laugh in a manner. The whole letter was in my mother's handwriting and was spent telling me how stupid I was for running away and that they were disappointed in me and would never forgive me for running away and ruining the family's chance at a life outside of Transylvania. Mother even found time to mention that Boroi was planning on moving us all to America.

When I was done reading that letter, I wrote another letter in response. After that letter was sent, I never received another letter after that. But I kept writing letters to my mother if only to feel like I was talking to someone. And every time I sent a letter, Titus would take it to my parents and he would always leave a note letting me know that they hadn't responded.

It seemed that the longer I stayed at Dracula's castle, the safer I started feeling. I still had no idea why he was doing this, but I was almost grateful to him now. He freed me from having to marry a man more than twice my age and a future in a country I wasn't familiar with. He was taking care of me and was attending to my every need. I could swear he was even there for me one night when I was having nightmares.

A few months after I was brought to the castle, there was a really bad thunder and lightning storm. I was always scared of thunder. And the thunder was especially frightening that night. I had managed to fall asleep after several hours of tossing and turned, but when I finally was able to sleep, I had a dream.

I'd dreamed that I was outside in the open during a thunderstorm all alone. But when I started shaking and was beginning to cry, a set of cold arms wrapped around me. It was an embrace like ice cold granite, but it was still comforting. When I woke up that morning, those arms were gone. I looked all over my room but found nothing. It had felt so real. After I'd had that dream, I started writing letters to Titus. He was the only other person in the castle that I could talk to.

My first letter was random and uneventful. I went through my day and told him about everything that I'd done that day. What songs I'd played on the piano, what books I'd started reading and so on. I also thanked him for all the dresses and other things that he'd provided to me. I thanked him for everything else I was able to think of and remember, such as the stationary and hair pieces. When I was done writing the letter, it was three pages long, front to back. Even an individual letter to my mother hadn't been that long. I put the letter into an envelope and sealed it the same way I would any other letter and wrote his name on it, indicating that it was for him.

I tried forcing myself to stay awake that night. I wanted to know when he got my letter. I found my eagerness to be odd and ironic. I'd spent so much time hating this man and being afraid of him my whole life, and now, here I was, eager for him to receive a letter I'd written him, even though the letter would probably bore him to death. But after lying in bed for several hours and hearing nothing, I couldn't force myself to stay awake anymore and I let my eyes close and I fell asleep.

I woke up the next morning a lot later than I usually did. Normally, when I woke up, the sun was still slightly dim and coming up. This time, the sun was bright and vibrant, indicating it was later in the morning. My breakfast was still at my bedside, but it was a little cooler than usual. This morning, there was a baked apple with some buttered toast. Even though it wasn't hot, it was still aromatic and smelled delicious. The first thing that came to my mind, however, was the letter. I looked at the table where my letter had been and I smiled.

In the place of my letter was another envelope with my name on it and a rose sitting next to it. The rose was red at the bass, then faded to pink as it ascended up the rose. I got out of my bed and walked over to the table, completely ignoring my breakfast at the moment. I immediately recognized the handwriting that I'd come to know as his in these past few months. When I started reading the letter, it was similar to what I'd written. He told me about some things that he did during his day and night.

That part had surprised me. I'd thought he would only tell me about his nightly activities, but he spoke of the whole night and day. He told me of the songs I played and how he enjoyed hearing me play. He told me about how he thought it was wonderful that I most enjoyed reading books about science, and even recommended a book to me and told me where I could find it in the library. He said he would leave it on top of the piano for me. He also mentioned that he noticed I seemed to be getting bored with most of the sheet music I was provided, so he had gotten me new sheet music and hoped I would enjoy it.

Most everything that he mentioned had gone on during his day was bring up what I was doing. I assumed he'd been watching me, but I never thought he'd be watching me during the day. Reading his letter made it clear that the sun didn't hurt him. But if the sun didn't hurt him, than what did he need a coffin to hide in for? Did that also mean that holy water and crosses didn't hurt him either? I wanted to ask, but it seemed too broad a subject to ask him at such an early time in our speaking to each other. Or writing to each other more accurately.

I decided to look in the library after I finished eating breakfast to look for the things he'd mentioned in the letter. As promised, there was a book on top of the piano and there were several pages of sheet music on the bench of the piano. The science book was notes and writings of Da Vinci. The sheet music was songs that I'd never heard before. There was no name to the song or composer either. I played the songs hoping that I might eventually remember them from somewhere, but I didn't.

Each song was extremely melancholy and had a sense of extreme loneliness. But each song was still beautiful. It took hours to go through each song. None were longer to play than three or four minutes, but there were so many. By the time I'd played all the songs, it was already mid afternoon. When I finished playing all the new songs, I took the book with me to my room. It wasn't a very long read. A lot of the book were pictures of designs like his war designs and plans for a flying machine.

It was nighttime when I finished reading. The sun had set a long time ago and I'd needed to light a candle so I could continue reading it. When I was done, I put the book on the other side of the bed and got out of bed to walk to the stationary table. I took out a piece of paper and started writing another letter to Titus, telling him that I enjoyed the book and the songs he left me and thanked him for them. I also thanked him for the rose and asked if I could have a vase of water to put it in.

When the letter was written, I folded it into an envelope, sealed it, and signed his name on it. I then went to the bathroom and took a bath. The water was still hot when I got in. The soaps were fresh and the candles were on all over the room. The candles even smelled of vanilla. I wondered how he knew I liked vanilla so much, or if he's just a really good guesser. I lingered in the tub for a while, almost falling asleep in the water. I did eventually force myself out of the water and went back to my room. I noticed that the letter that had been on the table when I'd left wasn't there anymore. Its absence made me smile.

I fell asleep quickly that night. I'd come to find that the robe he'd given me was a comfortable thing to sleep in, so I started sleeping in that. The next morning, my breakfast was, as usual, at my bedside when I woke up. I'd started waking up to the aroma of baked fruits and savory meats and eggs with apple juice. My breakfast this morning was a fresh pomegranate. I wondered where he was able to get a hold of a pomegranate, but dismissed the thought when I saw what was next to it.

Next to my breakfast was a large vase filled with assorted shades of roses with a note lying against it. I took the note and looked at my name written on the envelope for a moment. I truly loved his handwriting. It was far more beautiful than my own or any others handwriting that I'd ever seen. I opened the envelope and took out the note and unfolded it to read. It was a short note this time, but the handwriting was mesmerizing. I honestly wished I remembered exactly what his voice sounded like. I'd only heard his voice for a brief point in time and I'd been suppressing thoughts of him for so long that his voice was now gone from my mind.

_Dear Nicoleta,_

_I'm pleased that you liked your rose. But one rose didn't seem like enough. So I took it upon myself to give you more. I think it fills up the vase more attractively. And since you appeared to enjoy the music I left for you yesterday, I've decided to give you the rest of the sheet music. There's one song in particular that I hope you will enjoy. I'm sure you will know which one it is when you come across it. I will warn you, though, it might take a while for you to find it._

_Titus Valerius_

I smiled after reading the note. I took time to admire the flawless script before putting it back in its envelope. When I had it tucked inside again, I got out of bed and walked to my armoire and opened the doors. I opened the top of the interior counter drawers and took out a small stack of letters. I'd been keeping all his letters, even from the time I'd first come here. At first, this spot was a place to hide them so I would never have to look at them, and I never did since letters from him at that time were so few and far between. Then, once I was openly writing to him, it became a treasured spot where I kept all his letters together. I kept them tied together with a sweet red ribbon so that they would all stay together.

I placed the letters back into their drawer and went to my bed to eat the breakfast that was left for me. When I was done, I then changed and went to the library so I could see the music he said he'd leave for me. When I arrived at the library and started walking to the piano, my jaw dropped. There were stacks and stacks of paper, all divided by each song being placed differently in the stack to indicate a different song. One stack reached about my height. I looked through all the music, trying to find one that caught my eye. Eventually, I just picked a song at random and went from there.

It took me four months total for me to finish going through all those songs. None of the songs stuck out to me at first. I couldn't seem to find a song that he said would strike me. But on the fourth month after I'd felt like I'd played all the music, I came to the piano and saw some sheet music I'd never seen on the stand waiting to be played. The music looked far different from all the other songs that I'd played over the past few months. This one had higher notes and what looked like cheerier note changes.

When I finally played the song, it really did jump out at me. It was a far happier song. It still had a lonely undertone, but it was happier. It made me think of two people finding each other or being about to find each other. I felt myself get teary eyed as I played the song. It was beautiful. More beautiful than any of the other songs in fact. I played that song over and over again throughout the day. It cheered me up and made me think of a peaceful place.

That night, I left a note thanking him for all the music he'd left me and that I especially loved the one that he'd left for me to play. As I was writing the letter, I looked outside and had to sigh. It was fall. My favorite season. Fall was so colorful and I loved the sound of crunching leaves at my feet as I walked. And it had been months since I'd last set foot outside. I missed the fresh air and the sun. So I decided to add a request to go outside and walk around for a while. With that written down, I ended the letter, took my bath and went to bed, hoping for the best.

The next morning, I woke up to the smell of breakfast as usual. And next to my breakfast was a note. I rose from my bed quickly and reached for the note anticipating his response. I opened the letter as fast as I could and looked at the letter with great eagerness. I almost felt silly for wanting his permission so badly. I knew that I would probably at least try to walk outside with or without his approval, but for some bizarre reason I couldn't pinpoint, I felt the desire for his approval.

_Dear Nicoleta,_

_I'm thrilled you enjoyed the music I left for you. I feared you would find them boring truthfully. I understand that you wish to go outside and walk around, it being fall and such. If you wish to go outside and walk around, feel free to do so. I only ask that you not wonder too far away from the castle. I plan to stay close by to assure that nothing happen to you. And I want you to promise me that you will run back to the castle if you hear or see anything suspicious, no questions asked. You may leave at any time of the day, but come back before nightfall. Werewolves are usually more active at nightfall. I don't foresee that being as much of a problem during the day. Please enjoy you're walk. I will remain close by to keep you safe, so you needn't fear anything._

_Yours,_

_Titus Valerius_

I was beaming after reading his letter and I didn't even try to hide it. It was one thing for him to be alright with me going around outside, but the thought of him being there to protect me was a whole other thing of its own. I'd come to feel truly safe with him, even though I'd never seen more than his eyes and silhouette. Before starting my breakfast, I looked around my room and finally settled my eyes towards my ceiling, not knowing where else I could look.

"I promise to stay close to the castle and come straight back if I see anything suspicious. Thank you." I continued to smile despite the silence that followed. Half the time, if I didn't know better, I'd say he didn't exist. There are times when I question his existence, but his letters always remind me that he really is there.

I finished my breakfast and got dressed as fast as I could. I picked one of my deep burgundy dresses to wear. It fit the fall colors. I did my hair up as nicely as I could manage on my own. There were several hair combs to choose from. I was happy to see leaf barrettes and combs that I could put in my hair. I was sure to use several, but tried not to over indulge myself. I was really pleased with how my hair looked by the time it was done. My hair was out of my face and up in a messy French twist. Some strands of hair went free, but they were shorter parts of my hair, so that was alright. There was a burgundy shawl in the armoire that I saw and decided to bring with me. I wasn't sure how cold it would be outside.

It took me a moment to find my way to the main door of the castle, but was happy to find it. When I reached the door, I let myself out and took a deep breath as the autumn air blew against me. I was glad I'd brought the shawl. It was a little on the cooler side.

As I promised I would, I stayed close to the castle. Luckily, there wasn't anything strange happening and I didn't hear or see anything that would cause worry, so I didn't need to run back to the castle at any time. I was even able to take a small nap while I was outside. I took a nap under the shade of a tree and breathed in the sweet fall smells, like apple butter and damp leaves. I could even smell some burning wood in the distance. It smelled like maple. Then I could smell the food they were cooking using that wood. I couldn't tell what it was exactly, but I knew it was meat.

That night, I wrote a note thanking Titus for letting me go outside and asked if he would mind me continuing to do so since today went so well. I was happy to receive his note the next morning saying I was free to go outside as often as I wished as long as I continued to go by his two requests that I stay close and that I come back to the castle before sunset. I complied happily and enjoyed my time outside in the fall.

I started bringing books with me so I could read under the shade of a tree. I took up reading Taming of the Shrew first. When I was done with that, I read Pride and Prejudice. Then Sense and Sensibility after that. By the time it was almost the end of fall, I was starting the collection of stories by The Brothers Grimm. I loved reading their stories. Tales of Rapunzel and Rumpelstiltskin made me feel like a child again.

The last of the leaves were falling. It was late afternoon. The sun was about to set. I would leave my spot soon. I just wanted to finish Cinderella before I called it a day. I was at the part of the story when the prince fit the glass slipper onto Cinderella's foot when I started hearing something. It sounded like soft footsteps. I looked up and towards where I heard the sound coming from. It was close and gaining, but it was going at a slow pace. I never took my eyes away from the direction of the sound as I rose from my spot under the tree slowly, trying not to make a sound. But as I kept looking forward, I started seeing the shape of what was approaching me. It was a man. This confused me. I started smiling then. It was Titus. It must be. But my heart sank and confusion returned when I was able to see the man's face. It was a man I knew. He looked at me with shocked eyes when he saw me.

"Nicoleta?" It was Victor. A man that I'd grown up with. He was slightly taller than me with pale skin and short dark hair.

"Victor? What are you doing out here?" His face remained confused and started looking scared and concerned.

"I might ask you the same. I thought you were in Serbia." I knew I looked panicked.

I never thought I would need to come up with a backup plan to explain where I'd been all these months. I never thought I'd ever be able to leave the castle in the first place to need one. And then I found it unlikely that I'd ever run into anyone anyway with all the horrors that came with the woods next to the village. I searched through my mind for an excuse. Any excuse. He noticed my nervousness.

"Nicoleta?" I finally answered with the first thing I could think of.

"I was. I just came back." He remained confused.

"When did you come back?" I shrugged and tried to look innocent.

"Just yesterday actually. I just stopped here to read was all." His face became horrified and scared.

"Nicoleta, are you out of your mind?! Did you not notice the sun setting?!" I looked up and pretended not to have noticed.

"Goodness. I didn't." I laughed nervously. "How silly of me not to notice."

"Why are you even out here? Why didn't you go to the village?" I looked at him with nervousness in my eyes again.

"I……….I…got lost. I got lost was all." Then Victor started looking around, then back at me again.

"Don't you have a horse or carriage?" I nodded awkwardly.

"Yes, of course. It's just…….a little further from here. I walked around and found this spot." Victor rolled his eyes as his annoyance grew.

"Well, show me where it is and go back to the village. I've got to be truthful, your parents won't be happy. They have several words for you about running away."

"I know. I got their letter. I tried writing more, but they never responded." Victor gave me a look like what he was about to say was obvious.

"Of course they wouldn't. They've disowned you." This news took me off guard.

I had known that my family was angry for my 'running away to Serbia'. But I never thought they'd disown me. I wondered if Titus had known about this. And if so, why wouldn't he tell me? As I was holding my head down in thought, Victor approached me and took both my arms in his hands. But it was gentle, so it didn't startle me.

"Nicoleta, it's not so bad. If you come home now, I'm sure they'll forgive you in time." I looked up to face him. His voice was more eager than I would think it to be. I saw that he looked hopeful, but still had worry all over his face. "And I know you can't marry Domnule (Sir in Romanian) Boroi now, but you have other options. You could marry me." I was shocked now, and I wasn't hiding it.

"What?" He nodded.

"I'd asked your father before for your hand in marriage, but he told me you were to wed Boroi. But Boroi found another woman to marry after you left. Now that he's no longer an option, you and I could marry." I was sincerely confused. I held my hands up in front of me.

"What are you talking about?" His face began to look hurt. I'd never thought Victor had feelings like this for me. He was like a brother to me. I tried looking for a subject change and grasped at the first one that came to thought. "Wait, why are you in the woods? You never answered my question." Victor seemed to catch my desperateness to change the subject and let go of me. Than his face fell further. Turned to anger.

"Celestina is missing." My eyes widened in sincere shock.

"Your sister's missing?!" He nodded.

"She came out to the woods to look for her damn dog that ran out of her sight and we haven't seen her or the dog since. It happened this morning. While the sun was still down I might add." His eyes wondered to the castle accusingly as he said this. I gave him angry eyes.

"What makes you think it was him?" He looked at me shocked. "How do you know it wasn't a werewolf that took her?" He shook his head lightly in angered confusion before he looked at me and started talking again.

"She was close to the village when she was taken. We didn't hear any screaming or any roaring from the woods. Who else could keep a kill that silent but that monster, Dracula?" I flinched at the word monster, even though I'd thought of him as such not long ago myself.

"How do you know she was close to the village when she was taken? Maybe she wondered far enough away that none of you heard the attack." He was becoming angrier by the second.

"Why are you defending that monster?! What does it matter to you?!" After that, his eyes became aware, then pained. He looked in the distance and noticed how close I was to the castle completely alone and I'm sure started factoring in everything else. I swear I could hear his heart pound when he spoke again. "Nicoleta." I started backing away.

"What?"

"You've been here. All this time, you've been here. He's been keeping you here." I kept backing away.

"Victor?" He started coming closer to me.

"He didn't change you and didn't kill you? Then what does he want with you?" I looked away from him.

"I don't know." His eyes were furious now.

"He's controlling you somehow." I looked at him with equally shocked and furious eyes.

"What?!"

"That must be it. How else would you find it in you to defend such a vile creature."

"Stop calling him that!! You don't know him!"

"I don't know him?! I don't need to know him! Look at what he's done all these years! The girls, the hunter, the priest, several of our soldiers, our defenders! You've seen the mutilation he's done and the pain he's caused to a lot of families! You know it as well as I do! He's a monster Nicoleta! That's all he is, and that's all he'll ever be till the day we finally destroy him!"

His words hit me like a slap. All these months he'd been so kind to me. So caring. I was beginning to forget about everything that he'd ever done in the past. It was starting to seem out of character for him. But the truth of the matter was that he had done all that and that I knew he felt nothing for it. I couldn't explain the pain I felt knowing that, but it was a stinging pain that brought tears to my eyes. I didn't let them show though. I wouldn't let them through.

"That doesn't mean he's responsible for Celestina's disappearance." I walked to him so that we were standing face to face. "And for the record, I'm under no spell. I truly believe that Titus had nothing to do with it." He looked confused.

"Who the hell is Titus?!"

"There is no Dracula! There never was a Count Dracula! Dracula died a long time ago. Titus Valerius is the one that was living in that castle all those years. He's the vampire you and the villagers hate and want to destroy." He was shaking his head again.

"It doesn't matter what his name is! He's a murderer!!" We both heard a loud roar then. It sounded like howling combined with a human scream. It was like nothing I'd ever heard before.

Victor and I started backing away from where the sound was coming from. I thought about running back to the castle, but it was too late. The creature had already reached us. And within moments of hearing its roar, we saw it force its way through the trees bearing its fangs. It was taller than Victor, but not astonishingly large. It simply looked like a man covered in thick dark brown body hair and large canines. It had long claws that looked a lot like really long human fingernails. I couldn't form a scream when I saw the beast. Victor was already reaching into his belt to retrieve his gun.

"Nicoleta, get back!" Without a shred of thought, I did as he said and started backing away. But the werewolf noticed me do it and made a full sprint towards me. Victor shot at it, but it did no good. It bit into his arm and backed back away when Victor shot it again.

This time, the beast didn't bother with Victor anymore. It looked at me and started running to me again. I didn't even scream then. I think I was too much in shock to form anything. But instead of feeling the beast's teeth sink into my arm, I felt freezing cold stone step in front of me and push me out of the way. When I landed on the ground, I couldn't stay awake anymore. I felt myself going under and finally, blackness took over.

**TPOV**

I forced the werewolf away from me and away from Nicoleta. It hit against the tree and was immediately trying to pick itself up again. I glanced at Nicoleta to be sure that she was alright. Thankfully, she was. No blood, no bites, just a loss of consciousness. I could simply place her back in bed and let her wake on her own.

I looked back towards the werewolf and noticed the man that had been talking to Nicoleta. He was glaring at me but with fear in his eyes. As the beast recovered and charged for me again, he reached for his gun again and tried shooting me. I caught the bullet before it could hit me, ran around the beast so I was on its back, and cracked it's neck as soon as I had a grip of its head. When the beast fell, it fell with a loud plop on the ground. I walked around the dead creature to where Nicoleta was lying. I heard a gunshot go off again and hit my shoulder. It felt the same way it would feel if someone were to slap my shoulder with the head of a hammer, but significantly less painful.

"You get away from her!!" I stopped and turned to look at the man. I looked at his arm and laughed. I'd already smelled the blood, but I'd been planning to ignore it and let him be.

"You were bitten."

"Get away from her!!" I sighed and turned around completely and started getting closer to him. He tried shooting me between the eyes, but the bullet didn't even pierce my skin. It just flattened and fell to the ground on contact. It hurt, but not enough to make me flinch. He looked at me in horror. I kept smiling at him mockingly.

"You were bitten. You know what that means I assume."

"You took my sister." I shrugged.

"I've taken a lot of sisters. Why would I think of your sister specifically?"

"Don't mock me you monster. You took her from us today. She was minding her own business and you took her!" I laughed.

"I already know it wasn't me, then. I was at the castle all this month. I haven't hunted yet." I looked at him a little closer. The virus in the beast's saliva was rushing through his veins, making his blood smell like wet dog. But the clean blood didn't smell half bad. "Perhaps you could remedy that." He started backing away and trying to lift himself up.

"Stay away!!" I rolled my eyes at him and sped up so that I was right next to him and holding him down by forcing my foot on his torso.

"Think of it this way. I'm saving you from becoming something less than man." I crouched down so that I was closer and facing him. "Do you know what happens to you when a werewolf bites you?" He didn't respond. He tried pushing me away. "The virus is in their blood and saliva. It's similar to what you humans call rabies. But the difference between the rabies and the werewolf virus is that the rabies a werewolf carries is mutated.

"What it does, is that it eats away at the frontal lobe of your brain, taking away all human personality traits you have. You'll start growing thick hair all over your body and you'll go through a painful teething process where your canines and other teeth will increase in size. It's a very painful and long transformation. It could take as long as two weeks before the transformation is complete. All the while, you'll go through tormenting and relentless pain."

"I'll take that gladly!" I chuckled at him.

"I'm sure you would." I stood up and grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him up so he was dangling above the ground. He grabbed onto my arm and was trying desperately to twist or break my arm. "Unfortunately, I am not in agreement."

He looked as if he would say more, but I brought him to me and bit his neck before he could say a word. Now, he was grabbing onto my head tightly and screaming from the pain of the bite. I didn't take my time with him. I drank his blood quickly and he stopped twitching and died from blood loss within seconds. When he was dry, I tossed his limp, dead body to the ground and sighed contentedly. The burn in my throat was almost completely gone. One more and it would be completely gone.

I looked back at Nicoleta and started walking back to her. When I was in front of her, I lifted her securely into my arms and ran back to the castle at top speed. I was in her room in seconds and placed her back into her bed when I was there. I looked over her once more to be sure that she was okay. When I was sure, I pulled the covers over her and let her rest for however long she needed.

I watched her sleep for a few hours. Watching her sleep was oddly entertaining I'd come to find. She had many different facial expressions throughout the night. I could always tell when she was having a good or bad dream. Her face always gave it away. I had come to love watching her. It didn't matter what she was doing. I watched her and I watched her closely. Even after all these months of her being here, I still couldn't figure out what it was about her that I'd grown so attached to. It started with wondering why I didn't have the heart to hurt her. Now, the thought of being away from her or losing her made me feel sick and empty.

I'd become so attached to this young girl in such a short time, and I couldn't understand why. But whatever the reason, I swore I would protect her, and I would do just that. I will never let her out of my sight again, even for an instant. The moment I left her side, she ended up in trouble. I wouldn't let that happen again.

But as of lately, another desire for her had been forming. We'd spent all those months exchanging letters to one another. But now, I felt the need to speak with her, face to face. No pen and paper, just us. I hadn't done it for so long simply because I wasn't sure how she would respond to me and I didn't want to startle her. But I think now, after she woke up, would be a good time to finally come out of the shadows and talk to her. I only hoped she wouldn't ask about that man she was with earlier. I didn't want to explain his death, considering I had no idea how close they were if at all.

When it was close to dawn, I left her bed and left her room. I would need to go retrieve her breakfast. I hoped she wouldn't be out for too much longer. I was eager to finally let her see me face to face. I wanted to give her a face to associate with the name. I didn't know why it mattered to me so much. But I didn't care. I just knew I wanted it that way, so I would make it happen.


	3. To Meet The Monster

To Meet The Monster

**NPOV**

When I woke up, I woke up under warm covers and to the smell of bacon and eggs. I opened my eyes to look over and saw the eggs and bacon with a glass of milk. I looked around my room and tried to make sense of what was happening. I remembered a werewolf coming at me, then a large, cold figure pushing me out of the way and take the blow. I'd only seen his shoes before I'd gone completely out. There wasn't a note next to my breakfast, which I found odd. I figured that he'd leave a note of some kind considering what happened. I can only assume that he was the cold hard figure that pushed me out of the way of the beast and saved me.

Now it looked like I was back in my room and in just my robe. I was still wearing my undergarments under the robe, but I still blushed when it hit me that he must have changed me while I was unconscious. I forced myself out of bed and looked around my room hoping to find a letter anywhere, but I couldn't find one. I started feeling panicky. I had to compare him to a cat to calm myself down. He would come to me when he was good and ready.

With that thought in mind, I went back to my bed and sat down to eat breakfast. While I was eating, I thought more about the incident. I thought about Victor. I'd seen his face before I'd gone out. He looked horrified and angry at the figure that had pushed me and the beast out of the way. I also swore I saw a bite mark on his arm.

I froze when I remembered that part. He'd been bitten. That meant that he was turning into a werewolf. How long had I been out? Was the transformation done by now? I stopped eating my breakfast and took out a piece of paper and pen and started writing down my questions furiously. My handwriting was messy and the ink was spotted in several places, but it didn't matter. I needed answers to my questions. I needed to know if Victor was okay.

There was one question that I'd avoided, though. I wanted to ask him if he'd hurt Celestina. But I dreaded the question. I'd come to respect Titus over this past year. I didn't want to ruin that with suspicions and accusations. I honestly believed that he hadn't done it, but I knew he was capable and that it was possible that he had. I simply didn't want to believe that he'd done it. Celestina and I grew up together. We always played together as children. She was one of my best friends. I didn't want to believe that the vampire that I'd come to greatly respect would do something like that to my best friend.

When the letter was written, I decided to try and look around for him. I'd never seen him in the library before, so I thought I might be able to find him somewhere else in the castle. I started in the dungeon. I figured I might as well get that room out of the way. I brought a candle down with me just in case the room was dark even in broad day light. When I got down there, the light was reasonable, but I was glad I'd brought the candle for extra light. But he wasn't down there, so I left as fast as I could, trying to get away from the stench of the dead bodies.

It took me the whole day to go through the castle. I was sure to avoid the basement area though. That first encounter was enough for me to never go down there again. By the end of the day, I gave up and went back to my room. When I got back, my letter was still on the table where I'd left it this morning. That made me nervous. Usually, my letter would be gone by now. Normally, I'd receive an answer in the morning, but I was hoping for an urgent response to my questions.

With a feeling of great disappointment, I took a bath and then went to bed. I was feeling anxious, so it took a long time for me to fall asleep. But somehow, I managed to. I'm not sure when it was. All I was sure about was that it was the early morning. The sun wasn't up and it was pitch black in the sky. Much earlier than I normally wake. I'd woken up to the feel of ice cold stone touching my face gently. But as soon as I opened my eyes, whatever was caressing my cheek was gone.

There wasn't any food next to my bed. I looked over at the table where my letter had been. It wasn't there anymore. I was disappointed when there wasn't a letter from him in its place. I looked around the room just to be sure, and as expected, found nothing. I went back to my bed and was about to go back to sleep, but I started to hear music play.

I stood back up from my bed and tentatively walked to my door. The sound was faint to my ears through the doors, but I knew it was there. I opened the doors and the sound became slightly louder as I stepped out of my room. I stood there a moment just listening for a moment. It was the slow happy song I'd come to love.

I started walking down the hallway and down the stairs when I reached them. I followed the sound of the music, listening to it get louder as I came closer to the beautiful sound. It was coming from the library. I started walking faster when I reached the bottom of the large staircase and made my way to the library.

The music started playing louder and slower as I walked to the library. I tried to keep my footsteps as quiet as I possibly could. I didn't want to risk whoever was in the library hearing me and going away. When I reached the library entrance, I timidly walked to the opened double doors trying to avoid being heard or seen. The song didn't end or falter as I approached the doors as quietly as I possibly could. Finally, I looked timidly past the door and looked in the direction of the piano.

I saw the back of a familiar being. His hair was dark brown and his skin a pasty olive tan. His clothes were a simple black formal vest with black pants, shoes, and a grey shirt. It was a formal suit that a man of wealth would wear. He looked so young, no older than his early thirties. I walked as silently as I could out of the shadow of the door, my hand still there for a moment. Even from behind, he looked chiseled and handsome. I wanted to see his face, and bowed my head down in a dark blush as I thought it. Then, suddenly, the music stopped playing. My head jerked up at that moment as I felt heaviness in my heart. When I looked up, the man wasn't there. I walked into the library and started looking around for the man that had been at the piano. After walking further into the library, I felt like there was something or someone behind me. But whoever it was spoke before I could acknowledge their presence.

"Did you enjoy the song?" I spun around to look at who was behind me. His voice was so familiar. Warm and smooth and a deep bass with a slight Italian accent. When I saw his face, he was giving me a warm smile. Even his scarlet eyes were inviting.

"Titus Valerius?" His smile widened when I said his name. He nodded his head.

"Simply call me Titus. It's less of a mouthful." I smiled and nodded my head respectfully. He was so beautiful. This wasn't the man I'd been raised to hate and fear. Her spoke with a voice like velvet and his scent was like chocolate, vanilla and pears all cooked in sugar. It was mouth watering. He had a face far more beautiful than any man I've ever known. It was square and broad with an angelic angle to it that only added to his beauty. Even his read eyes suited his face.

"Titus." He grinned and nodded his head.

"I'm glad to finally speak to you face to face. It's been a while." I felt my cheeks get warmer.

"Yes. It has, hasn't it?"

"Have you enjoyed your stay here?" I nodded and smiled sweetly.

"Yes. You've been very kind. Did you make all that food yourself?" He smirked and nodded his head.

"I took it upon myself to snatch a few recipes from women in the village. Especially from your mother." My face became serious. He realized what I was thinking and shook his head, making his expression just as serious as mine. "You mother is fine. She doesn't even know I was there. I wrote down all those recipes on a copy of paper for me to keep." I breathed a sigh of relief and nodded my head.

"Oh. I thought I recognized those recipes." He smiled again and nodded. Then another thought popped into my head. My face was instantly serious again. I hated ruining the moment like this, but I needed to know. "Did you read my letter from earlier?" His face changed as well. It was like looking at the blank expression of a statue.

"Yes. I did."

"What happened to him?" Titus looked away from me for a moment, took a deep breath, then looked at me with stone cold eyes.

"He's dead, Nicoleta. He'd been bitten by the werewolf that had attacked you both. It was either kill him or let him become a monster. I chose the lesser of the two evils." I stared at him blankly after that. His voice was so cold and uncaring when he said that.

"And Celestina?" He shook his head at that.

"He said that she was taken that morning. I wasn't near the village at that time. My guess is that she was taken by that werewolf or another vampire in the area."

"So you didn't kill her?" He shook his head again.

"No. Only that man." I felt slightly better. I knew he hadn't killed Celestina. I was glad to have been right about something. "I'm sorry. I should've realized you two were close." I looked at him again. His face wasn't showing any form of emotion, but something told me that he was upset.

"I understand. I'd rather he died as himself as opposed to an animal."

"He didn't see it that way I'm afraid." My face remained sad.

"I assumed." I stared at the floor awkwardly. I was having a moment of recollection. Suddenly, his hand was on my chin and he lifted my face so that our eyes met. I felt myself melt at the sight of those eyes.

"I'm sorry." I shook my head. "I don't want our first conversation to be about something so tragic. I was hoping we could start on a friendly note." I smiled lightly.

"I would too." He finally smiled at me again. It was a breath taking smile that left me dizzy just at its sight. "Can I ask you a few questions?"

"Ask me anything you like." I smiled shyly.

"In one of your letters, you mentioned that you watched me throughout the day." He chuckled under his breath. His laugh was angelic. It was the type of laugh and voice that could charm a polar bear into buying ice.

"The sun doesn't bother me. It's a common misconception."

"Crosses?" He shook his head. "Holy water?"

"Not at all."

"A stake through the heart?"

"You'd be lucky to pierce my skin."

"Garlic?" That made him chuckle again.

"It doesn't bother me the way you think it does. Garlic has a really strong smell. So does celery, onions, rosemary, anything that has a heavy smell bothers us, but it doesn't keep us away."

"Then how did it spread that they do?" Titus looked taken off guard for only a moment then recomposed himself.

"I can't really say. I think the sun myth came about because we never go outside during the day anyway."

"Why not?" Titus smiled handsomely.

"We have five hours until the sun rises. I'll show you then." I smiled.

"Why can't you tell me now?"

"Because it's a sight to see, my dear." I blushed and held my head down again. I put his hand under my chin and lifted my face so we were seeing eye to eye. "Would you like to play the piano or read until then?" I tried to breath.

"The piano sounds nice." He smiled and took his hand away from my face.

That same hand now took mine and he gently pulled me with him towards the piano. I resisted the natural need to shudder. His hands were freezing. It was like touching a block of ice hard as granite. Despite my best efforts, he felt me tremble slightly and he let go of my hand. I still followed after him to the piano. We both sat down and he started playing the low notes of a song. I played the high notes when I realized what song he was playing.

As we played together, he asked me several questions about myself. Questions like when I was born, relatives, favorite pass times, and so on. He thought it was cute that I insisted that I couldn't mend and sow to save my life. I asked him questions about his past. He had me at, 'I woke up to the news of Caesar's death'.

"I know this is a rude question, but how old are you?" Titus chuckled.

"My dear, I'm at a point where my age can't offend me anymore."

"How's that possible?"

"I'm 1932 years old, Nicoleta. I don't know how old I was when I died. I count from the moment I woke up a vampire." I only heard 1932.

"1932?" He chuckled.

"Yes. It's such a big number when you say it out loud." I giggled lightly under my breath.

"Do you have a guess for your age when you were human?"

"Judging by the maturity in my face, I guessed thirty two to thirty five."

"That would mean you're really 1969 years old." He chuckled.

"That's only if I'm right about that age. It never really mattered. It wasn't long at all before I stopped caring."

"How long have you been in Romania?" He answered while his hands still played the piano. He'd taken over the part I'd long forgotten about.

"Over four hundred years. I was a nomad for most my vampire life. Four hundred years ago when I came here was the first time I'd ever had a home that I remember."

"Do you like staying in one place?" He looked thoughtful a moment before answering.

"It depends. On one side, I liked traveling and seeing new things. But I also like having a home to come to. It's relaxing and comforting in a manner. And truthfully, my dear, when you're as old as I am, you've had plenty of time to see everything you could possibly want to see." I giggled. "Why's that funny?" His face was confused.

"It's just strange hearing you say something like that. You don't look a day over your early thirties." He smiled.

"So I've been told." We laughed together when he said that. He had a breathtaking smile. His teeth were a flawless white and it contrasted beautifully with his skin. His red eyes seemed to sparkle when he was smiling at me and his face had a softness that I never thought I'd see.

"Are you the only one here?" He nodded.

"Yes. I have friends that come through every now and then, but they're all nomads. They think it's strange that I would choose to stay in one place like this. Vampires don't generally do that."

"Why?" He shrugged.

"We don't like our presence to be known. At least, that's the law." I gave him a confused look. He wasn't even looking at the keys as he continued to play.

"The law?" He nodded.

"Yes. There's a vampire coven known as the Voulturi. They're more or less the royal family of our kind. They make the laws and each one comes with death if they're not obeyed. One of those laws is to be secretive." I kept a straight face. It was strange. I was torn between humor and horror.

"No offense, sir, but you haven't done a very good job about being secretive." He smirked at me.

"I know. My saving grace is that the rest of the world thinks your village is insane. Truthfully, every priest your people has ever sent after me was insulting your village's stupidity. Until they saw me of course."

"Oh." He chuckled.

"That's the only thing that's kept me safe all these years. The world thinks Transylvania is seeing things, so the Voulturi don't bother snooping around."

"They've never even investigated?"

"They have. But I have friends that always let me know when to expect them."

"Friends?" He nodded.

"Vladimir and Stefan. They stalk the Voulturi like hawks. They used to be the 'royal family', them and their coven. But the Voulturi overran them and killed all the members of their coven except them. They've been out for revenge ever since. They're actually hoping that I'll agree to help them fight." I looked at him questioningly.

"Why?" He chuckled.

"They think I'm a genius." I giggled.

"Do you not think so?" He shook his head.

"Not to sound arrogant, but I know I am." I gave him a shocked humored look.

"You do sound arrogant." He chuckled richly with me.

"I know."

"What have you done to earn the honor to be deemed so smart?"

"Do you remember that door that was welded shut in the basement?" I shuddered subtly when I thought about that time, and nodded my head. "Those were dogs, rats, and bats in that room. Animals that I'd injected with my venom."

"Why would you do that?" He shrugged indifferently.

"I was curious. I wanted to see if I could use them to my benefit. And I can. Those animals obey my every command. I've come to find they feel obligated to me and only me because of the venom."

"How do you know it's the venom?"

"I tested it. I had Vladimir and Stefan inject their venom into two dogs I found. No matter what I did, those dogs wouldn't listen to me. They only listened to the one that changed them."

"Wow. Did they keep them?" He shook his head.

"No. They thought they were a nascence, so they asked me to rid of them. I didn't think anything of it. They wouldn't listen to me, so I couldn't get any use out of them anyway."

"Is that they only reason they've raised you to such a high pedestal?" I smiled shyly as he chuckled.

"No. That's not the only thing. I like to build things. Invent. And not just the animals."

"What other things have you created?"

"I'd rather not say. They're all pretty gruesome. Think of some of Da Vinci's war machines, only faster, smaller, and much more destructive." I scooted a little closer to him and smiled.

"I'm curious." He looked at me a moment, then sighed.

"I created something that puts werewolf teeth to good use. It's a devise I made that you ingest into a vampire's body. It's timed for a mere few seconds. When it goes off, it releases enough sharp fangs that it rips a vampire apart in seconds. The only problem is you have to be able to get close enough to force it down their throats and fast enough that it doesn't hurt the one administering it." I laughed nervously.

"You meant gruesome." He chuckled.

"Yes, I meant it. That's not even the best of them."

"I don't want to know, do I?" He shook his head with a smile.

"No, you don't. I'd rather you not think of me as more of a monster than you already do." He said the last part with some sadness in his voice. I put my hand on his shoulder.

"I wish I could say I've never thought of you that way. But you've been so kind to me over this past year. I've come to respect you greatly."

"But you can't forget what I've done I'm sure." I held my hand down and took my hand away.

"I wish I could. I still remember that priest that came to our city. I'll never forget the sight of his head put on display on the church roof." He stopped playing abruptly. I looked at him again. His face was serious and he was looking straight ahead at the wall.

"I won't apologize for that. Nor will I apologize for the hunter. Or the soldiers sent after me, or the many women I've taken." He rose from the piano and started walking a few feet away from me. "Why should I have to? Everything I've done was out of self preservation in one manner or another."

"But you've hurt so many people. Those girls, those soldiers, all of them had families."

"So did I, Nicoleta. Whoever changed me never thought to spear me because I had a family." I was silent a moment. I was suddenly curious.

"What was your family like?" He turned to face me and shrugged.

"I don't remember. All I remember is that my wife's name was Perseia. The only reason I knew that was because I ran into my evident brother in law and long time friend. I don't know anything more than that." I don't know why the fact that he'd been married surprised me, but for some reason it did. "I had no idea what had happened to me. I only knew that my throat was burning and I needed something to sooth it. I'd killed four people within my first half hour of being a vampire.

"Perseia's sister was the first one. I didn't know she was her sister at the time. But even when I did know, I couldn't muster up the will to care. After that were three men that had come to investigate."

"All those people?" He nodded.

"When I was able to go outside without being noticed, I was invited into a whore house by a woman that took interest in me. I killed her long before she could throw me out for not having any money." He chuckled coldly. "I wasn't even planning on sleeping with her. I can't imagine I would've felt that way if I'd been human. But all I wanted was her blood. Her sexual advances had no effect on me."

He looked at me again after he was finished. His face became remorseful when he looked at me and saw the look that was on my face. I was staring at him wide eyed and with what I knew was fear and terror in my eyes. I already knew he wouldn't hurt me, but after what I'd just heard, it didn't make me any less scared of him. He held his head down only slightly. He didn't look ashamed at all, but he did look embarrassed.

"This is what I am, Nicoleta. You've always known that, even when you thought I was the dreaded Count Dracula." I remained silent. He walked closer to me, but still kept a little distance. "I won't hurt you."

"That's not what frightens me. I already know you won't hurt me." He shook his head and kneeled down in front on me on one knee and took both my hands in his.

"Don't fear me, Nicoleta. Everyone else fears me. Not you. Please not you." I couldn't understand why he cared so much. I also couldn't understand why it made me feel warm all over knowing that he cared. I thought out loud.

"Why do you care so much?" I instantly stiffened. I wasn't sure how he'd react to my question. Instead of getting made, though, his face became relaxed and composed. One of his hands trailed up to my face and he held my cheek in his palm. I caught myself leaning into his cold hand.

"You know what's so strange?" I shook my head softly. "I've never cared before. When one of my victims screamed, it meant nothing to me at all. Taking a human life never made me so much as flinch." His thumb started caressing my cheek. "And yet here I am, fascinated and unable to kill you or suck your blood, no matter how sweet your blood smells."

"Why?" He stared at me a moment before answering me. Finally, he shrugged minimally.

"I don't know."He stood up again and started to walk away from me. I maneuvered off the piano bench and stood.

"How can you not know?" He stopped and stared at the wall a moment. Then he turned to face me with a serious face.

"Something in my subconscious mind. It's a hidden desire I suppose you could say. I don't suppose you've read any of the Freud notes I have lying around." I smiled lightly.

"I have. I'd rather not think of myself as having hidden sexual desires for my father and a desire to kill my mother." He chuckled.

"Most humans don't. That's why his views are so controversial."

"So you know there's something, but you don't know what it is?" He nodded.

"The mind is a fascinating thing, isn't it? I didn't take interest until I met you. Like many men of science, I was more interested in the physical rather than the mental. But, then again, I wanted that knowledge purely because I was bored." He said the last part with a chuckle.

"Why do they do it, do you think?" He shrugged.

"They claim to help people. But the truth of the matter is that most doctors think of the human body as no more than a machine. I, on the other hand, think of the human body as something to study to occupy my mind. When I know all there is to know about that, I move on." I smiled nervously.

"It must be infuriated, having so much time on your hands." He chuckled and walked closer to me.

"It is when you're alone. I have friends, true. But vampires are so solitary that our visits to each other are so rare. A vampire is usually alone, or with their mate and that's it." My eyes widened a little.

"Vampires mate? As in….?" He caught what I was saying and stopped me.

"We simply remain together. Similar to the way a married couple spends their lives together. Vampires, however, don't mate lightly. We don't usually tolerate a permanent companion unless there's true deep love there."

"I didn't think vampires could love." He chuckled again.

"There's no such thing as a creature without emotions, my dear. Some creatures are simply more stoic than others. The only thing incapable of feeling is a machine."

"But aren't your kind creatures of the devil?" He continued to smile.

"None of us know for sure how our kind came to be. I theorize, assuming there is a god, that we were put here for the same reason a lion was. They're the height of the food chain. They keep a population down. That's what we do."

"But populations have grown since the turn of the century." He raised one eyebrow. He looked impressed.

"That's simply due to the advancement in medicine. We, of course, aren't the only things that kill humans. We're just one of the many natural causes."

"You call what vampires do natural?" I realized too late that I'd raised my voice. I held my head down again when I realized it. He didn't seem angry, though. He looked amused. I caught myself getting aggravated with him.

"You call what lions do natural. And what of you humans? You eat cows, rabbits, turkeys, and other living, breathing creatures and call it natural. Suddenly, there's a creature out there that eats your kind, and suddenly we're creatures of the devil."

"Nothing in the bible says we can't eat meat. It does, however, say not to drink blood or eat humans."

"No human shall eat another human. That's the rule." He walked closer. "I used to be human, true. But I'm not anymore. That rule doesn't apply to me."

"It's immoral."

"Are you saying a tick is immoral? A mosquito? Vampire bats?"

"Those are animals."

"So are you." My eyes widened again.

"Excuse me?"

"You're an animal. I'm an animal. We all are. We're simply a more advanced animal. We belong to the same food chain, same instinctual rules, the same needs and desires to reproduce."

"But humans are more inelegant."

"Indeed, they are. But isn't a dog smarter than a bug? Isn't a dolphin much smarter than a guppy?" I stayed silent for a moment. I held my head down again.

"You're trying to make me look stupid aren't you?" He forced me to look at him, not a shred of humor in his face.

"Never. You were asking questions, I answered them and gave reasons for my answers. No more than that. If my doing so has offended you, then I'm truly sorry." I shook my head.

"No. It's alright. It's just the first time a man has ever taken the time to talk to me about their opinions on anything other than politics."

"Would you rather talk politics?" I shook my head.

"No. Please no, I hate politics. It's always one problem after another." He smiled.

"I can't disagree with you. I've been alive a long time, Nicoleta. And in all those years, it's always been the exact same problems. It's just been handled differently."

"Is it true what they say? We're on the brink of war?" His face became thoughtful.

"Not Romania. The French, Germans and British are bickering. And Serbia is demanding freedom from Austria-Hungary. If the Serbians take any form of action, the Germans will stand behind them, and the French and British will support the royalty. Europe's been on the brink of war for years. Asia isn't in much better shape either." My face became questioning.

"Asia?" He nodded.

"Japan's a small island country. They're running out of room. They'll naturally go after Korea, them being closest to them. And they'll go after China out of spite."

"Why would they do that?"

"China and Japan have despised each other for centuries. In 200 AD, China saw Japan and saw an easy win, it didn't work out that way, and Japan and China have been in and out of war ever since. And Japan's just recently united. A three hundred year civil war finally come to an end."

"That's nice for them." He smiled.

"Depends on how you look at it I suppose." I smiled. I looked over his shoulder and he looked where I did. I noticed the sun starting to rise in the distance. He looked at me again and held out his hand to me. "I believe I promised to show you why we don't go out into the sunlight." I nodded with a smile and took his hand.

"Indeed you did." When my hand was in his, he led me with him out of the library.

I let him lead me up the stairs until we were at the top. Then he tossed me onto his back. I let out a startled yelp when he did and I was on his back and we were flying through the castle until he took me to a room that had a balcony. When we reached the room, he placed me back down on the ground and gestured me to walk out onto the balcony. I stared out at the scenery. I could see everything from here. It was beautiful. I looked around at him. He was still inside and out of the immanent sun's rays.

"Aren't you coming out?" He smiled charmingly.

"I will. I want to wait a moment, until the suns a little higher in the sky. It'll only take a minute." I smiled and watched him. He smirked and gestured for me to turn around and watch the sunrise.

I did as he asked me and looked around to watch the sunrise. I watched as the sky turned from pink and started turning a light blue within minutes. It was a breathtaking sight. I watched absentmindedly until I saw something shining in the corner of my eye. I looked where the shining was coming from and saw Titus standing on the balcony smiling at me. His skin was like shining diamonds. It was beautiful. I knew I must look silly staring at him. He was already flawless. The shine only added to his beauty.

"That's certainly not burning." I said with a small, awed voice. He chuckled and nodded.

"No. It's not."

"So this is the reason vampires don't go into the sun?"

"Yes. I'm afraid this is hard to hide. And hard to ignore." I smiled.

"I think an arch angel would be less conspicuous." I blushed when the words left my mouth. I'd spoken before thinking again. He only chuckled.

"I could say the same for you, my dear." I started blushing an even deeper red at his words. He smiled wider, letting me see his pearly teeth. To my amazement, they looked like the teeth any other human would have. No enlarged canines or fangs. His teeth were perfectly straight and looked like teeth any poster girl or man would kill for.

"Is it safe to assume you don't have a coffin either?" He started laughing. It was deep and warm. Silky smooth like milk and honey. When his laugh was under control, he smiled at me.

"No. I don't have a coffin. I don't sleep and as you can see, the sun doesn't hurt me. I have no need for one." I touched his ice cold face that was shining in the rays of the sun. It was truly memorizing and beautiful.

"I suppose it would be a waste."

"And I never had a coffin to begin with. Nor a funeral."

"You never had a funeral?" He chuckled under his breath and shook his head.

"No. Everyone thought I was still alive. They thought I'd murdered my wife."

"But you didn't." He shook his head.

"No. But I did murder her sister and three men that came to investigate. When they saw those four, they naturally assumed that I was the one responsible. Not to mention I murdered that street walker."

"People kept track of that?" He shook his head.

"Not usually. They only cared because the woman who ran the whore house recognized me from when I was leaving." I kept looked at him when he started looking out at the forest. After a minute, I looked in the direction he was looking. I could see the village from her. It looked so small from this height and distance.

"The view is beautiful." I felt his hand take hold of mine and I looked at him.

"You can have this room if you like." My eyes widened.

"Can I?" He nodded.

"Of course. I don't need it. If I'm not in the library, I'm usually in here. The bed is comfortable, too. And the pillows are made with cotton as opposed to goose feathers." My smile widened. I hated goose feather pillows. The feathers would always peak through and they made me sneeze and hurt when the tips poked my face.

"Really?" He nodded. "Thank you."

"You don't need to thank me, Nicoleta. I'm only too happy to give it to you." I smiled shyly.

"Can I ask you something else?"

"Of course." I took a deep breath. I felt overwhelmed.

"Why didn't you try to talk to me? I can understand you not talking to me in the beginning, but why didn't you try to communicate with me once I was comfortable?" His face became a little more serious, but he kept his smile.

"Because I didn't want to scare you. I knew you didn't want to talk to me and even when you were more willing to talk to me, I was nervous. I didn't want to startle you." I giggled lightly under my breath and smiled shyly.

"I'm glad you decided to talk to me. The letters were lovely, but it's nice to finally talk to you face to face. It's nice to see you."

"Likewise, Nicoleta."

"I always thought you were a monstrous looking man with pasty skin, fangs, claws and red eyes." He chuckled.

"Vampires get that a lot." We laughed together when he said that. I looked out at the forest again and he looked too.

"Would you still let me go outside? Despite what happened last time?" His hand left mine and trailed into my hair where he started rubbing my scalp soothingly.

I started to feel calm and lightheaded. I'd never been touched like this. Especially not by a man. Victor had held my hand several times, but it had never felt romantic even though we grew up together. And yet, oddly enough, I felt closer to Titus after those letters and one single meeting than I'd ever felt with any man I knew after knowing them for years. Despite the cold and granite hardness of his hand, it was soothing and felt like a safety net.

"Of course you can. I'll just be closer by is all."

"I think I can live with that." He smiled. Another thought came to my head, and the thought made me a little sad.

"I miss my family." He frowned and looked forward. His face looked hurt, but he was doing a good job of hiding it from me. "I know it's not possible." He sighed.

"I wish I could. But they wouldn't let you go." His words took me by surprise.

"Would that upset you?" He looked at me with a thoughtful face. He looked like he was trying to think of a way out of a serious situation.

"If you wish to go home, then I won't stop you. I want you to be happy here. But if you're not, I won't force you to stay. But I don't want you taken away. I won't let that happen."

I felt the urge to hug him when he said that. I took a deep breath, then wrapped my arms around his waist and rested my head on his cold chest. It was like hugging stone, but I'd never felt safer. In the time I'd been here, he'd cared for me and protected me from anything and everything. I'd come to rely on him. And since we'd started communicating, I'd come to think of him as my best friend. When I hugged him, I felt him stiffen for an instant, but he hugged me back before I even had time to worry if I'd been too forward.

"I won't leave. You've been kinder to me than anyone I've ever known. And you've done so much for me whether I'd deserved it or not." His fingers started to trail through my hair and it made me feel warm inside, even though his hands and chest were so cold.

"I've been alone for so long. I want you to stay so I won't be alone anymore." I smiled into his chest and held onto him tighter.

"I'll stay here for as long as you want me here." I felt his chest vibrate as he chuckled. The feeling made me smile.

"And I'm here as long as you want me."

It was a while before I released him. When I did, we stood close together and looked at the woods and talked. Everything that we hadn't spoken about last night, we spoke about on that balcony. When the sun was high and bright in the sky, he lead me back into the castle and his skin stopped shining when the sun was no longer touching his skin.

Then he took me to the kitchen in the castle and made me breakfast. I hadn't realized how hungry I was until he'd reminded me of breakfast. I asked him to let me watch him cook, and he was only too happy to let me watch. He taught me how to make French toast. He cut open an orange and gave me that and a spoon with my piece of toast.

When I was finished with breakfast, we went to the library together and we read Pride and Prejudice. He was able to change his voice perfectly with each character. He brought the characters to life with his voice. I was able to even picture the scene when my eyes closed. He read the book in two hours. I'd never enjoyed the book so much since I'd first read it.

By the time he finished the story, it was later in the afternoon and I was getting tired. My eyes started to feel heavy, and somehow, he noticed how tired I was. He helped me get to my feet and escorted me to my new room with the balcony window. When I was in my room, I sat down on the bed and he told me to wait a moment for him. Within seconds of leaving, he was back with all my dresses and put them in another closet in the room. When all my clothes were in my new room, he went to the bathroom and started a bath for me. When the water was hot and ready, he came back to the room with a smile.

"I'll leave you to your bath, Nicoleta. Your robe is in there resting on the chair. If you need me, you need only call for me." I smiled.

"Thank you." He bowed his head with that same dashing smile, then stood straight again and walked out of my room.

When he was gone, I undid my dress with a little difficulty and placed it in the dresser when it was off. I took a long bath and let the warm water sooth me. My same lavender and vanilla soaps were there for me to use and I was sure the lather and make myself as clean as I could. When I was done, I dried off and put on my robe to go to bed for the night. But before I did, I went back onto the balcony and looked at the sky as the sun was setting. It was late at all.

A few minutes went by and my tiredness started becoming more apparent when I was having a hard time keeping my eyes open. I finally crawled into bed and pulled the covers over me and snuggled into the covers. This room was chilly because of the balcony, but the breeze was nice and the blankets were heavy and perfect for snuggling under the covers. I fell asleep quickly and for a long time. When I woke up, the sun was up and bright. But there was something there that I didn't remember being there the night before. There was a hand caressing my face and the hand was cold and hard. I opened my eyes and saw Titus laying sideways on the bed next to me. He was smiling at me when I awoke and I smiled back.

"How did you sleep?" I breathed in deeply, taking in the smell of his skin.

"Wonderfully. It was a little chilly last night, but the blankets kept me warm." He grinned from ear to ear.

"I noticed. I thought that, since the winter months are pressing closer, you might want some doors on the balcony." I nodded.

"That would be a good idea."

"How does glass French doors sound to you?" I grinned and giggled.

"That sounds perfect." He smiled wider.

"Good." Then he got up from the bed and ran to my side all in one second and held out his hand to me. Without question, I took his hand and let him pull me out of bed. When he did, he made me stand right where the balcony passage was. My eyes widened. "What do you think?"

The doors were glass and French styled as he said, with a tint of red in the frame to match the rest of the room. The glass even made rainbows form all around the room, adding a magical essence. The doorknobs were like vines and were lined with Ivory. They were flawless and clean. More beautiful than any work of art. I looked around at him and he was grinning like a villain that had just gotten away with murder. I was half smiling, half trying to contain the giddy laughter that wanted to escape from me.

"How did you do this without me noticing?"

"I waited until you were in REM. That gave me ninety minutes to get it done without waking you." I gave him a questioning look.

"REM?" He nodded.

"Rapid Eye Movement. It's the point of sleep where a human dreams. It's a deep sleep in which one can't be woken up. It's also the most important part of sleep, because that's the sleep that makes you able to retain information and keep you body functioning properly." I giggled.

"Thank you for the lesson in human psychology." He chuckled.

"Sorry. Sometimes I over explain things. It's a bit of a bad habit of mine." I shook my head.

"No, I don't mind. It gives me a chance to learn new things." He grinned.

"You can never know too much." We laughed together as I continued to look at the new French doors. I looked through the windows and saw that it was snowing outside. The sight put a smile on my face.

"It's snowing." He chuckled and his hands rested on my shoulders.

"It started snowing early this morning." He let go of my shoulders as I walked forward towards the doors. When I was close enough, I rested my hand on the glass and got a better look of the outside. The snow looked to be at least a foot deep. And the glass was ice cold. It reminded me of Titus' hands.

"Would you be opposed to going outside today?" I didn't hear him walk closer to me. But before I had time to think, he was standing right next to me. I looked at him and he was smiling at me.

"If you want to. I have plenty of coats for you to use. Would you rather wear mink or rabbit?" I giggled.

"What's the difference between mink and rabbit?"

"Mink is a little softer to the touch. And it's white. But it doesn't look bulky." I smiled.

"I'll wear the mink, then. It sounds wonderful."

"Would you like breakfast first?" I shook my head.

"That's alright. I'll eat later. Something nice and hot when we get back in." I heard him chuckle.

"If you wish. I have coffee in this castle if that's what you'd like." I shook my head.

"I'm not a big fan of coffee. It makes me giddy and hyper."

"Not one to contain your caffeine I see." I giggled.

"No. My mother used to give me and my brother hot milk."

"Milk it is then." I smiled.

"Hot milk would be lovely. But let's go outside first." He smiled and nodded his head.

"Of course. I'll go get the mink." I smiled and he was out of the room before I could turn around to thank him.

When he was gone, I looked through my closet and looked for something that would be warm. I found a nice royal blue dress with purple lace with long sleeves that rested off the shoulders. I put on my undergarments and was about to put on my corset when I felt cold hands touch mine as I grabbed at the strings.

"Allow me. This will go by much faster if you have someone do it for you." I smiled while looking at him in the mirror.

"Thank you." He grinned, then let his hands get to work. He worked much faster than my mother or nanny ever had, but he still took his time. His face in the mirror was relaxed and content and the sight made me laugh to myself.

"What's so funny?" He asked in a gentle voice.

"I grew up thinking that vampires didn't have reflections, and yet there you are in the mirror." He started to chuckle again.

"Ridiculous." I giggled.

"How did that myth originate if you don't mind my asking." He smirked.

"Christian faith claims that since vampires supposedly don't have souls, they won't have a reflection. Another myth says that we're uncomfortable with our reflection in the mirror."

"I doubt that." He chuckled.

"I'll admit, it's not true. There are several vampires I know that love themselves a little more than they deserve to." I giggled again.

"I think that applies to all living creatures." He nodded.

"Yes, I think it does."

"Does that mean that all vampires look human and not like monsters?" He nodded again and chuckled.

"Of course we do. We used to be human. It only makes sense that we would still look human. Besides, we need to look human. It attracts our prey more effectively." Those words made me shutter. He finished tying the corset and let go of me.

"How do you mean?" His face became serious, as if he felt he'd said too much. Then he sighed.

"Humans are naturally attracted to us. Our smell, our face, and so on. We're the perfect predator."

"How intimidating." He felt me tremble from what he said and took his hands away.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought something like that up." I turned to face him and shook my head.

"No, it's alright. I asked." He took a deep breath and kept looking at me with a serious face.

"I don't want you to be scared of me, Nicoleta. I want there to be one person that isn't scared of me."

"Don't worry. I know you would never hurt me."

"I don't want to ever hurt you. You have nothing to fear from me, Nicoleta. I've lived long enough as a vampire to be able to control even my most painful of cravings for blood." My eyes widened when he said that. My right hand went to my throat. He took my hand. "Don't be scared of me."

"It's not that. It just never occurred to me that the bloodlust might be causing you pain."

"It's alright, Nicoleta. Like I said. A vampire as old as me learns exceptional self control." I smiled shyly.

"You would know I guess." He chuckled.

"Is this the dress you chose?" I was taken off guard by the change of subject. I looked where he was and saw the dress that was centered in the armoire. I nodded.

"Yes. I thought is looked warm enough for outside. And I like the blue." He chuckled.

"I agree. Blue is a flattering color on you." I blushed and tried not to look in the mirror as I reached for the dress. He stepped back and let me pull it on. When it was on, he came over and tied the back for me again. "What do you want to do with your hair?" I looked at him, then shrugged.

"I don't know. I was just going to braid it." He smiled.

"May I?" I looked at him a moment, then nodded my head and looked in the mirror.

I saw his hands reach for a drawer that was filled with barrettes and hair combs. He started pulling my hair up and pinning it so that it would stay in position. It was done so fast and masterfully that I couldn't follow his hand movements. He finished what he was doing with dark blue flower mini combs throughout my hair. It was done within a minute and it looked beautiful. It was a messy French twist with small amounts of hair loose in front to frame my face.

"It's beautiful. Thank you." He smirked.

"Hair is only made beautiful by the one wearing it, my dear. You made it beautiful all on your own." His words made me blush again and he chuckled. Then he reached his hand in front of me and offered it to help me stand.

I gave him my hand and he gently pulled me out of the chair and into a standing position in front of him. Then he turned and reached for a white coat that was fuzzy and cute looking. I assumed it was the mink coat he spoke of. It was a coat that had large open sleeves that didn't hug. It was a very loose jacket that was elegant looking and had a single two inch ivory piece that acted as the clasp when hooped around the barely visible white string.

He held it up for me and I put my arms through the large sleeves and clasped the single ivory piece when both my arms were through. Then he handed me a pair of black gloves. They were leather and the ends were lined with white fur that looked similar to the mink. I assumed it was the mink. I put on the gloves without a word and admired Titus' handy work in the mirror. My hair was beautifully done. And my dress fit better than it had since I'd first came here. It was nice to have someone be able to tie the corset properly and be able to look my best in the dresses he provided for me.

"You look beautiful, my dear." I smiled at him in the mirror and blushed.

"Thank you. You certainly know how to make a woman feel pretty."

He smiled and held out his hand to me again. I let him take my hand and I expected him to lead me down the stair towards the front door, but he didn't. Instead, when he was holding my hand, he lifted me into his arms and ran towards the French doors to the balcony. He opened the doors without breaking the glass and leaped off the balcony and I held on tight as we plummeted towards the ground. I contained my scream. I was sure he knew what he was doing, so screaming would've been foolish. He landed on the ground with flawless ease as if he were just taking a step down the stairs. When his feet were on the ground, he placed me down on mine.

"I thought you might want to take the faster route. I'm sorry if I invaded your boundaries." I shook my head.

"Not at all. I much prefer the faster route." He chuckled.

"I do too." I smiled and then looked out at the trees of the forest. Everything was covered in white and breath taking. It all made me smile. I started walking aimlessly into the forest and Titus followed close to me.

"I was born in winter."

"Were you?" I nodded.

"December 27th, 1869. I turn nineteen this winter." He chuckled warmly.

"A proud day for you." She nodded.

"I was supposed to be married by now, too. Sorry for the change of subject. The thought just came to my mind."

"It's quite alright. That Boroi gentleman correct?" I looked around at him with surprised eyes.

"How did you know that?"

"I overheard you and Victor talking the other day about it. It was also obvious he was hoping to wed you as well." I looked down at the ground as I started walking again and shrugged.

"I'd never thought he felt that way about me. I feel silly for never noticing."

"Don't worry about it, Nicoleta. Some men aren't obvious about their emotions. A psychological defense mechanism I suppose you could call it." I sighed.

"Other than the bite from the werewolf, was he relatively unscathed?" Titus was silent a moment before answering me. When he did answer me, his voice was serious and lacking emotion.

"He was. The bite was his only injury. But it didn't stop him from shooting at me twice."

"Obviously it didn't kill you."

"No. It didn't even pierce my skin." I walked a few more feet before suddenly he was in front of me and facing me. "Let's change the subject, shall we?" I looked at him blankly a moment before nodding my head.

We walked through the forest for several hours. The gloves and coat were comfortable and kept me warm. Titus never laid a hand on me the whole time we were outside. I suspected he didn't want to risk freezing me to death with the feel of his cold skin. I tried starting a snowball fight, but he was too fast and always dodged my throws and would end up throwing one at me from behind seconds after he'd disappeared from where he'd been standing.

Several hours later, I realized that I was really hungry. He ran us inside and made me the hot glass of milk that he'd promised as well as some nice sunny side up eggs. When I finished eating my breakfast, he took me to a large study that I'd seen a long time ago but had never found anything to do in there. He lit a fire for me and the flames were mesmerizing. We sat together and talked in front of the fire. He shared stories of his time traveling through Europe. He told me of his years spent in Greece, Italy, and France and all the vampires and troubles he'd encountered. He even had a funny story about a clan of gypsies he encountered while in Spain.

"It's a very frustrating story really."

"Tell me. How can a vampire be intimidated by a mere band of gypsies?" He chuckled and shook his head.

"I wasn't intimidated by them. Their persistence merely annoyed me. There was a gypsy girl that danced in the streets at night for money. At times, she would exchange sexual favors for extra money."

"Why does that bother you?"

"That's not what bothered me. What bothered me was the fact that the woman liked to follow me. And somehow she always knew where I was." I giggled.

"That's cute." He shook his head.

"No, it's not. I was accused of being an accomplice to one of her little thieveries because the night police saw her with me all the time. I was questioned for several hours and they finally let me go because I wasn't giving them any answers."

"Why's that funny?"

"Because one of the officers attempted to make me talk by shoving my face in a pan of olive oil."

"He was able to force down your head?" He shook his head.

"No, he wasn't. He spent a good twenty minutes trying to push down my head and finally gave up when I hissed at him. He realized I wasn't someone to mess with and he let me be. When they let me go, they told the other officers to keep a close eye on me whenever they saw me. Needless to say, I left Granada shortly after that and went to Seville."

"I hear Seville is beautiful." He shrugged.

"It is when you see it for the first time. But after a while, you've seen one overdone cathedral, you've seen them all." I giggled.

"I assume you're not catholic." He chuckled.

"My dear, if I ever worshiped any gods, it was the Roman gods. And we've all seen how reliable they can be." His remark was sarcastic and it made me laugh lightly.

We talked for the rest of the afternoon and simply enjoyed each other's company. There more I spoke with Titus, the more interested in him I became. He was fascinating and kind despite his arrogant and cruel foreface. It was like he wanted to be seen as a monster by all but me. I found this odd, but decided it was best not to question it. He would explain it to me if he thought it was the right thing to do.

By the end of the day, we had shared our life stories to each other. When we were done talking about that, we started talking about events. He taught me of things that had happened all over the world that I'd never known about growing up in my village. He told me the story of the American civil war. A war that I knew minimally about. It wasn't necessarily something that was deemed all that important a subject in Europe. They way he explained it to me made even the politics of it interesting.

"And my parents wanted to move there." I shook my head and I smiled at the thought. His face didn't change from its kind, storytelling look.

"You're family wanted to go to America?" I nodded.

"It was planned that we would go after I married Boroi. We would've had a mansion in Pennsylvania, and a summer home in Savanna, Georgia. It was all planned out." He chuckled.

"I hear Georgia is a nice state in which to own a summer home. It's a very warm start and they grow peaches there." I smiled.

"I know. I know that's something I would've enjoyed. I love peaches, but I rarely get to have them." He smiled sincerely.

"That's a shame." I nodded.

"Indeed it is." He chuckled and his hands started playing with the bangs of my hair. I didn't try to pull away. The action, I thought, was oddly soothing. I didn't want him to stop.

When it was night, I felt tired and Titus took me to my room. He started my bath and left my robe out on a chair in the bathroom. He undid my hair for me so as to avoid me getting any of the pins stuck in my hair. That, and I wanted his hands on my scalp. The feeling earlier had made me feel pleasantly light headed. After my bath, I put on my robe and walked to me bed. When I was under the covers ready to go to sleep. I felt oddly lonely.

"Titus?" I said his name quietly, but he was beside me within moments of me calling his name.

"Yes, Nicoleta? Is there anything wrong?" I shook my head.

"No. I was actually wondering if I could be so bold as to ask you to stay with me tonight. Your presence seems to help me relax." He smiled sincerely at me and nodded his head.

"Of course."

With that said, he climbed onto my bed and stayed above the covers. He laid down close to me and I scooted closer to him while staying under the covers. When I was closer to him, his arm rested on the top part of my pillow above my head. I could smell his sweet scent when he was this close to me. The smell was intoxicating.

"You smell so nice." I thought out loud. I felt myself start to blush, but he only smiled.

"As do you, Nicoleta." I smiled and scooted even closer to him. His skin was cold, even through his white shirt and black vest. He really was flawless.

After lying there for a few minutes, I still hadn't fallen asleep. Titus noticed this. When he did, he started caressing my cheek with his stone cold hand and started humming the slow song I loved. I listened to his song and was moved by the sound of his voice. It was a voice that any woman would turn to mush for. A voice that could make even the ugliest of women feel like a goddess. As I listened to him, something started becoming apparent to me that I'd never expected. I realized I cared deeply for him.

Not just because of his beauty or his voice or even his generosity to me. He was a wonderful man. A man that should be seen as a model figure for men everywhere. He was smart. And, yet, he never spoke down to me. He was charming, and yet he wasn't a womanizer. I found his moments of arrogance to be cute, and they were minimal enough that it wasn't something that was unbearable. The more I thought about him, the warmer and warmer I began to feel inside. I felt myself start to smile like a child on Christmas day. And as I thought about him, the most unbelievable thought came to my mind. I only wish that thought had stayed in my mind.

"I love you." I stiffened when I said those words. Not because they weren't true. Oddly enough, they were true. But he might not feel that way. He was a vampire. Not human. He didn't feel human emotions. I felt my chest start to feel like it was being filled with lead. After several moments of silence, he finally spoke.

"You love me?" I was still a moment. I thought the worst was to come. Eventually, I nodded my head. As soon as I nodded my head, I felt my chin be pushed up to face him. He had a sweet smile on his face.

"I never thought you'd bless me with those words." I looked at him a moment in disbelief. When I finally spoke again, my voice was weak and shaky.

"Does that mean that….you….?" He nodded his head.

"I love you too Nicoleta. I figured that out a long time ago. Being with you these past few days only made it clearer to me. I just never dreamed that you would return that affection." I smiled with tears welling in my eyes.

"I do. I return them." He smiled and brought his face close to mine. He brushed his nose to mine, then kissed my nose sweetly.

His next action took me by surprise. After kissing my nose, he kissed my lips with that same gentle tenderness and love. I didn't fight him. It was a wonderful feeling. It was my first kiss and with a man I loved. A man that I'd portrayed for so long as a monster. He kissed my lips one last time, then kissed my cheek before facing me again.

"It's strange falling in love with a monster you feared all your life isn't it?" I shook my head.

"You're not a monster to me." He smiled lovingly at me.

"I'm grateful the hear you say that."

After that conversation, he let me rest my head on his cold chest and he hummed to me again. I fell asleep almost instantly. And all the while, I thought about how I felt to fall in love with that man that had haunted my nightmares for so long. He wasn't a monster. Not to me. Not anymore. I was in love with a vampire. The most taboo, and unthinkable love ever imaginable.isHis


	4. Treasured

**Treasured**

**TPOV**

I watched her sleep that night with renewed interest. She was such a beautiful girl. Certainly not just physically, though she had a beautiful angelic face with the most stunning pair of eyes I'd ever seen in my long life. It was more the innocence of her. I sensed a burning passion in her, yet she was rational and levelheaded. I'd come to learn so much from her in the year that I watched her, first figuring out why I was so fascinated by her.

There's a myth amongst vampires that says that if a vampire meets a human whose blood smells the sweetest they've ever smelled, that human is their truest love. I always thought that myth to be absurd. There wouldn't be a vampire alive that could tolerate not to drink that blood and test the myth anyway. Even now, I can't fathom how I managed it. I only knew that the look in her eyes when I first saw her made me want to keep her and let her live. It wasn't until later that I realized I really had deep feelings for Nicoleta. I never thought she would ever feel the same, much less admit it to me so soon after meeting me face to face. I suppose I must have been more charming in my letters than I thought.

The thought made me chuckle to myself as I watched her sleep. She really did deserve everything the world had to offer and more. Ever since I met her, I'd felt the oddest need to give her things in the hope that I could make her feel special and wanted. Any other person might fear that she only loved her gifts, but she was far too sincere a woman to be so irrational and callous. She was an honest woman with steady values. And of course, I would have known if she was lying to me. A human's heart always races faster, even if only marginally, when they're lying. And the heartbeat of a liar is different than that of a lover.

Even her adult face held a childlike innocence. How I loved this woman, even after such a short time. Something some would call love at first sight. I'd always thought that concept to be foolish and childish. But now, it seemed not to far from plausible.

I caressed her soft cheeks as I watched her sleep. The smell of vanilla was heavy on her, but it mixed well with her own flowery scent. She was smiling lightly in her sleep. The sight made me feel oddly proud. A thought then forced its way from the back of my mind into the front. Her birthday was such a short time away. I had the urge to do something pleasant for her. While she slept, I started contemplating something special that I could do for her. Taking her to visit her family was my first thought, but I immediately dismissed the idea. I didn't want to put her in a position where she would have to explain a complicated, not to mention fabricated, story. Nor did I want to deal with them demanding that she stay home. I told her that if she wanted to leave, she was welcome to. But I would be damned all over again before I let anyone take her from me.

Suddenly, I heard her yelp in her sleep. My grip, which I hadn't even noticed was tightening, loosened on her. I tried to pull away from her, but she started to whimper lightly in her sleep as I tried to pull away and she grasped at my sleeve as tightly as she could. I smiled to myself when she did that. I gave her cheek a chaste kiss and she smiled in her sleep. If not for her steady breathing, I'd think she was awake.

I watched her for the rest of the night, never getting bored. When the sun started to rise in the distance, I let go of her and ran to the kitchen to make her some breakfast. I made her some scrambled eggs and pored her a glass of milk. When her breakfast was made, I brought it to her room and placed it on a tray next to her bed. She wasn't awake when I got back, but I knew she would be soon. She woke up a half hour after I got back with her breakfast. She woke up with a beautiful smile on her face, and that smile widened when her eyes opened and she looked at me.

"Good morning, my dear." She looked at her breakfast, then back at me.

"Morning. Thank you for breakfast." I brought my hand to her cheek and caressed it as I spoke.

"I always do. I made you scrambled eggs. You always seem to like those when I make them for you." She smiled.

"I like the way you do it. My mother always put a lot of salt and pepper in hers. I never liked it." I chuckled as she forced herself to sit up on her bed. She reached for the fork and started eating.

"At the time I didn't have any salt or pepper. I noticed you liked the way I did it the first time, so I never did it differently." She blushed a little.

"You really were watching me closely weren't you?" I smiled and nodded.

"I never found greater entertainment in my long life." She giggled a little while she was eating her eggs.

"It baffles me just how long your life is." I smiled at her.

"It used to baffle me too. But after a while, you stop caring in all honesty."

"I suppose you would after all those years. Is it hard to find vampires that are older than you?" I started chuckling at her question. She blushed again. I loved that blush. "I'm sorry. That was a rude question for me to ask you." I shook my head.

"Not at all. And no. It's not very hard to find vampires that are older than me. I'm actually pretty young for a vampire." Her eyes widened slightly, but at the same time, she didn't look that surprised by that.

"What's the oldest you've encountered?" I chuckled again.

"You really want to know?" She smirked and nodded her head and took a sip of her milk. "The oldest vampire I've ever met was well over 10,000 years old."

"And who was that?"

"Those two vampires, Vladimir and Stefan. They're old."

"They're the ones that used to be the 'royal family' before the Volturi right?" I nodded.

"Yes. And truthfully, I don't think Aro, Caius, or Marcus are much younger than Vladimir and Stefan."

"Do you know when they were changed?" I shook my head.

"No. I never cared to look into it. I'm sure I could find out if I wanted to." She smiled.

"That's okay. It's not worth hours of research." I smiled.

"It's not so much, hours of research, as it would be days for me to find Vladimir and Stefan to ask them."

"Either way, it's probably not worth your time anyway." She said it with a smile, so I decided to tease.

"Not really, no." She smiled and giggled. "What do you say we read the Brothers Grim after breakfast?" She looked at me and smiled wider.

"Could we read Rumpelstiltskin? That's my favorite." I nodded.

"Of course, Nicoleta."

She smiled at me sweetly and got back to eating the rest of her breakfast. When Nicoleta was finished, I told her to meet me in the library and took the dishes down to the kitchen. I washed the dishes and put them away and still managed to get to the library before her. When I got to the library, I found the book of stories by The Brothers Grim and found the story she wanted to read. I heard her soft footsteps approaching the library and had to smile. I found a chair that would fit both of us and took a seat to wait for her.

"How did you get here so fast?" I looked up at her and her expression was pleasantly surprised.

"I ran." She stared at me a moment before she started laughing. Her laugh was sweet and shy. A laugh that could melt even my cold heart. While she laughed, she walked the remaining distance and took a seat next to me on the large chair.

"Would you still have gotten here before me if you'd walked?" I chuckled and put my arm around her shoulders. When I did that, she leaned into me and rested her head on my shoulder.

"Most likely. Vampires are fast creatures. Consequently, we don't like waiting."

"Humans don't like waiting either." I chuckled again.

"You'd be right about that I think." She smiled with her eyes partly closed. Then she looked at the book and saw that it was opened to the story she'd asked for.

"My mother used to tell me this story all the time. The version she told was a little different though."

"Was it?" She nodded.

"In my mother's version, Rumpelstiltskin was actually an ogre. And he'd demanded the girl's love in return for her life instead of her first born son." I smiled.

"That adds an interesting dynamic to it, doesn't it?" She nodded. "Did it end the same way?" She nodded.

"Yes. The maid heard him yell his name while she was out and the princess got to stay with her beloved prince." Then she looked up at me. "I wonder."

"What?"

"Why would an ogre want a girl's love? How would it ever work?' Her question gave me a sensation that made me quiver. I hadn't meant for my voice to sound so cold when I answered her, but it had.

"I suppose he thought having her love would make him feel like less of a monster."

"But he was so cruel to her. Why would he expect her to love him after all that?" I sighed.

"Maybe that's simply who he is. Psychology is strange that way. You can never truly know what's going on in a person's head. The only one that could ever know what's going on in your head is you. And even then, the mind isn't clear." She looked up at me, then her face became aware.

"I offended you." I shook my head.

"Not at all, Nicoleta. I'm simply able to sympathies with Rumpelstiltskin in such a matter." She kept looking at me with those sweet, hazel eyes with an odd determination.

"You're not a monster Titus. You're not." I had to hold back my chuckle at her statement. I brought my hand to her face and caressed her cheek. She closed her eyes when I touched her warm skin and she smiled. I smiled too.

"I know what I am, my love." She shook her head.

"You're not." I sighed and she opened her eyes to look at me. "You're not."

"Nicoleta….do you know how many people I've killed? Human and vampire? That priest, that hunter your village sent, they were only a small fraction of the murders I've committed."

"It's in the past, Titus. It doesn't matter anymore."

"So you think I'll stop?" She looked taken back by my words. It was like watching a person that had just learned an awkward and hard truth. Then she looked at her hands and fiddled with her fingers.

"I know you need to feed." I sighed and brought both my hands to her face. I motioned for her to look at me, and I noticed she did so reluctantly.

"I will never hurt you. That I can openly promise you." She smiled a little. "But I won't sit here and tell you that I'll never kill again when I know perfectly well that I will. Not even just to feed or for self defense." She looked confused.

"Why?" I gave myself a second to think about the best way to explain this to her gently. Finally, I took in an unneeded breath and looked at her again.

"I don't feel anything, Nicoleta. Every victim I've ever had, every human or vampire I've ever killed. I feel nothing for them when they're dead. They were simply my pray or they were in my way. I don't feel any remorse for those I've killed. And I'm sorry, my dear, but I never will. I told you that before." Her eyes became sad then. In that moment, I wished I could change. I wished I could be less callous, less indifferent. But the fact of the matter was, I'd been this way for so long and had so little remorse for those I killed that changing seemed a waste.

"I know that."

"Nicoleta." She stopped me before I could speak.

"And despite it all, I love you anyway. No love story or overheard experiences can ever prepare you for feelings like this. I know the man you are. I don't see you as the monster that terrorized my dreams. Not anymore." I said my next words in a hard tone, almost skeptical.

"You love me? No matter how many men and women I've killed with no thought at all? No matter how many I plan to kill in the future, and how little care I'll have when I do so? You still love me?" She nodded.

"Yes. I still love you. I never thought I would and I never thought it would happen so fast. But I love you. And despite what is probably safer for me, I feel safe with you. And I know that I never have to be scared as long as I'm with you."

I looked at her a moment without changing my expression. For the first time in all my years, I was speechless. I couldn't think of what to say. No smart comment, no witty joke, nothing. I had never felt this way before, not even in my human life. I like to think that if I loved my wife at all, I would have remembered her, even after I'd forgotten everything else. After several moments, I brought my face close to hers again, our noses touching ever so slightly. I heard her heart start to race.

"I'm glad you trust me to such an extent." She smiled and nodded.

"I would trust you with my life. I do trust you with my life." I couldn't help but smile at her words.

"As I trust you with mine." She giggled.

"Why would you need to trust me with your life?" I smiled at her.

I didn't want to go into detail. After having her, I wasn't sure I'd ever be the same again when I lost her. I was sure that once I did eventually lose her, it would be the most painful ordeal I'll ever experience. I would never be the same again, I knew. But I didn't need to tell her all that. She wasn't thinking about the future. Why should I make her? Instead, I said the truth to her in a sweet, innocent way that wouldn't make her feel scared.

"As long as I have you, Nicoleta, I will have a life worth living." She didn't notice the sad hint in my voice it appeared. She only smiled at me lovingly and rested her head back on my chest.

"Let's read." I smiled and kissed her forehead. I heard her heart start to race again.

"Alright."

I started reading the story with her, changing my voice for each of the different characters. It made her smile when I gave Rumpelstiltskin a scary voice. She said it made the story feel nostalgic. When I finished reading her Rumpelstiltskin, she took the book and looked for Rapunzel. I was about to read it for her, but she insisted on reading it to me. I didn't argue and let her read the story to me with the same playfulness that I'd done with her. She used a high screechy voice to play the witch and a poorly done deep voice for the prince. I only chuckled when she said the prince's lines and she never said a thing about it. The whole time she was reading, I was brushing my fingers through her hair. It was wavy and, thanks to my fingers, completely without knots.

"How can tears heal blindness?" She asked when she finished reading. I chuckled.

"They can't my love. That's why it's a fairy tale." She smiled.

"Do you think there's anything that could cure blindness?" I shook my head.

"I'm afraid not. Hard of seeing can be fixed, but once you're blind, you're blind for good."

"Why can you fix hard of seeing but not blindness?" I shrugged.

"A person is hard of seeing because their eye is out of focus. Fix that, and you can see again." She smiled at me.

"How do you know all this?" I breathed.

"A lot of studying. And looking in the human body. It's really a fascinating thing when you take the time to look at it." She smiled again.

"Does that mean you would know how to cure most disease?" I shrugged.

"I'm sure I could if I took the time to learn about the disease. I took the time to look at the virus that turns you into a werewolf. It's actually a mutation of an already existing virus."

"How did you learn that?"

"Dissecting a werewolf." Her face cringed in humored disgust.

"You really did have too much time on your hands." I chuckled at her words and she started laughing with me.

"Over 1900 years old, Nicoleta. In such a long time span, there's not much to do." She giggled and started looking through the book for another story. "Nicoleta." She looked up at me.

"Yes?"

"What do you say we read outside? I'll bring out enough blankets so you won't get cold." She smiled at me.

"That sounds lovely. I'll go upstairs and change into something warmer." I stood up from the chair with her and surprised her by lifting her into my arms. She made a yelp of surprise, then started to laugh.

"It'll be faster if I just take us upstairs." Before she could say another word, I was running through the hallways and up the stairs to her room. I reached the room in seconds, leaving her feeling dizzy.

"That certainly was faster." She said as I put her on her feet and held onto her until she regained her balance.

"Like I said." We smiled at each other as she walked to her armoire and looked for a suitable winter dress. I was sure to stock her up with plenty of winter dresses with dark colors. Interesting how a darker color could keep one warmer.

"What dress should I wear?" She said with a sweet hint to her voice. I walked over to where she was standing and looked at the selection she had. I immediately looked at the black dress. It was all black with red lace under the sleeves and neckline and red ribbons along the corset.

"How about the black one?"

"It's beautiful." She looked at me. "When did you get this? I don't remember seeing it before."

"It isn't that new. I got if for you a few days ago." She smiled at me then looked at the dress again. She walked the last few inches to the armoire and took out the dress and held it up so she could see it.

"Is this velvet?" Her voice gave away that she was impressed and joyful. I nodded my head.

"Yes, it is. Velvet's a good winter fabric. Cotton's under that, too. You'll feel as if you were still indoors wearing that." I heard her giggle a little.

"That's always a plus." She walked past me and laid the dress on her bed. Then she looked over her shoulder at me with a sweet blush. "Would you help me get out of this dress?" I smiled and held in a laugh at her shyness. I nodded and walked to her.

"Of course."

When I was right behind her, I started undoing the strings of the back ties and loosened the dress until she was able to let it fall off her. Her knickers were a blinding white, even to my eyes. I heard her heart start racing faster again and her blush deepened. I huffed a small laugh, then took her shoulders in my hands to make her face me. When she was, she was still blushing and not looking at me.

"Nicoleta." She only brought her head up lightly, now staring at my chest and not the floor. I brought my hand to her chin and brought her head up to face me. When I had her eye contact, she blushed more and smiled at me shyly. "You don't need to be embarrassed my dear."

"It's hard not to be. The only one who's ever seen me like this is my mother." I chuckled. "And you're not my mother." I laughed a little harder at her joke and she smiled wider at me.

"That's very true. I'm not your mother. But you still need not be embarrassed." She blushed a deep red before saying her next words.

"Nothing you haven't seen before I suppose." She sounded a little sad when she said that. I smiled kindly at her and kissed her forehead.

"I don't remember, my dear. The last woman I'd seen was my wife, and I don't remember her." She smiled a little.

"I guess you don't." I shook my head.

"Not at all." She looked at me again.

"Do you ever wonder what she was like? Do you remember her name at least?" I sighed.

"Her name was Perseia. That's all I know about her. I only know her name because I encountered her brother and supposedly my good friend. He told me a few things. Her sister's name was Persephone and his name, the brother, was Evander." I caressed her cheek soothingly. "As far as whether or not I wonder what she was like, sometimes I do. Simply because I'm curious. But I can't imagine there were any deep feelings." She looked confused as she rested her hand on my hand that was on her face.

"What makes you say that?" I shrugged.

"I like to think I would have remembered her if I loved her. I had to have a man I didn't remember tell me my late wife's name." She looked down.

"You don't know who killed her." I was meant to be a question, but it came out as a statement. I smiled at her lovingly and shook my head.

"I'm afraid not. I don't know what good it would do me to find out regardless. It's not as if I would avenge her death if I ever found out." She looked down when I said that, and I felt uncomfortable. I was being too honest with her. I tried to keep my composure as I brought her face up to look at me with the hand that was still on her face. "I'm sorry. I'm telling you things you don't need to know." She shook her head.

"It's alright. I'm glad that you're honest with me. It means you're comfortable with me, and that's good." I smiled at her again and she started to smile back.

"I guess it is. But I don't want you to think of me that way." She shook her head.

"I won't judge you for things you did in the past. It's none of my business to begin with." She took herself away from me and reached for her dress. She smiled weakly and put on the dress.

"You know I'll never lie to you. If you ask me something, I'll tell you the truth." She smiled.

"That's what I want. I want you to tell me all about you, just as I will do with you." When the dress was on over her head, she turned her back to me. "Do me up?" I smiled and walked the rest of the way to her.

"Of course." I started tying the back corset and tried to do it tightly without hurting her. "Since I was so honest with you," She giggled at what she knew was coming. "Why don't you tell me something about yourself that you wouldn't normally tell anyone." She smiled to herself and made a face that said she was thinking.

"Well, let's see. What could I tell you that I would never tell anyone else?" She kept her face in the same humored thoughtfulness while she thought about something she would like to tell me. "Okay, I've got a story." I smiled.

"Do tell, my love." I was done tying her dress, so she turned around to face me. Her eyes remained innocent, but held a wicked glare. It was enticing.

"One time, when I was younger, I had a good friend. Mariya was her name."

"Alright."

"And she was about to be married."

"That's wonderful news." She giggled.

"Normally. But she was thirteen. The man she was to marry was sixty two." I chuckled.

"Short end of the stick I suppose. How old were you when this happened?"

"I was twelve. I would turn thirteen the winter of that year. But anyway, guess what she asked me." I shrugged.

"I don't know my dear, tell me." She smiled wickedly again.

"Well, here's what happened. We were walking around in the woods the night before her wedding, even though our parents told us never to do that." I nodded.

"As children do all the time I'm sure." She giggled.

"So true. But anyway, we went into the woods and she was telling me about her husband to be. She didn't want to marry him, needless to say. But she confessed to me that she liked his twenty eight year old son." I nodded.

"Alright. Getting interesting." She giggled again.

"Very interesting. She told me that she was going to attempt to ask him to marry her so she wouldn't have to marry his father. And guess what else."

"What?" It made me laugh how interested I really was about this little story.

"He wanted to marry her too."

"Gasp." I pretended to be shocked. She smiled brightly. "So did he plan to tell his father that he wanted his bride?" She nodded.

"Yes, he did. They were both planning to do so at the wedding." I chuckled.

"How dramatic. But what does this have to do with you?" She smiled wickedly again.

"Well, like I said, she brought me with her into the woods so we could play and talk. When we got deep enough into the forest, she confessed to me that she was nervous about kissing Caleb. That was the son's name. So she asked if she could practice with me." My eyes did widen then and she giggled at my reaction.

"Nicoleta, you little harlot." I said it with a small smile, so she knew I was teasing. She nodded.

"Yes, I know. Aside from her of course, you're the only other person who knows about that. Feel proud." I chuckled.

"I do." I brought my face closer to hers and gave her a sweet kiss. When I took my lips away again, I kept our faces close. "So your first kiss was with a woman?" She nodded.

"Technically. But I'd never kissed another man before." I chuckled.

"Aw, the pride I feel." She giggled and wrapped her arms around my neck. I stood up straight and she had to stand on her tiptoes to keep her face close to mine. I let my hands rest on the small of her back.

"Just because I must ask, how did you like the kiss with Mariya?" She smiled.

"I didn't know what to think of it, truthfully. I sort of sat there and let her do whatever." I chuckled.

"Not a very responsive practice kiss." She giggled.

"I suppose not. I was only twelve. I can't be expected to try anything erotic. It was bad enough that we kissed in the first place." I chuckled.

"So did she end up marrying the son or did she have to marry the father?" She sighed.

"She married the son." I gave her a confused expression.

"You act like that was a bad idea." She nodded.

"It was. They were married three years with one child when he left her for a gypsy. No joke. No one's seen him since he left." I chuckled and she gave me a critical look. "Don't laugh. That's not funny."

"I'm sorry, Nicoleta. I love irony, what can I say?" She smiled.

"Still. It's rude to laugh at people's misfortune." I rose an eyebrow at her.

"Are you saying you're such a saint that you would never laugh at something ironic or unfortunate?" She shook her head.

"Never." I smiled challengingly at her.

"Well, I think you would. The Germans call that kind of humor schadenfreude. Everyone laughs at a person's misfortune because it makes you glad you're not them." She persisted in shaking her head.

"Nope. I would never take joy in another person's pain."

"I never said anything about pain. I said misfortune. They're two completely different things." She took herself away from me and rested her hands on her hips in a challenging manner. I found myself being intrigued.

"Alright, Mr. Know-it-all." I chuckled at her teasing. "Tell me a story about someone's misfortune. If I win, then you have to apologize for laughing at my friend." I smirked at her challenge.

"And what happens when I win?" She playfully glared at me for my wording choice.

"IF you win……well, what is it you would want?" I smirked and looked at the ground to think about it. Then I thought of something. I brought my face close to hers again with a smirk.

"When I win…" She glared with a little less humor. "Fine. IF I win, then you have to tell me what you want for your birthday." She gave me a weird stare.

"What makes you think I'd have to lose a bet to tell you what I would want for my birthday?" I chuckled and gave her a quick kiss.

"I don't want to leave you with too awful a penalty my dear." She pushed me away teasingly.

"A man does not kiss a lady to whom he is not married to, my good sir." I chuckled and wrapped my arms around her and pulled her to me until her back was against my chest. She smiled the whole time and gave weak, halfhearted swats at me.

"And as I recall, a lady does not kiss a gentleman she is not married to, am I right?" She giggled.

"I didn't. I was provoked." I laughed then. A loud exuberant laugh. She looked at me with pleasantly surprised eyes. I buried my face into her neck and just laughed. She brought her hand to the top of my head and gently held me there. "I've never heard you laugh like this." I took control of my laughter and kissed her cheek.

"I've never even heard myself laugh like that." She smiled triumphantly and watched me laugh. Then she gave me a weird look. "What's wrong?" She shook her head.

"I'm sorry. You're eyes look darker. I thought they were red." I nodded.

"They're red when I've fed. The longer I go without blood, the darker my eyes get. So a note to you. If you see a vampire with coal black eyes, you probably have no hope of living." She laughed nervously.

"I'll remember that." She looked into my eyes a little longer and turned in my arms so she could have a better look. "When was the last time you fed?" I smiled at her.

"A few weeks ago. I usually feed every month. But I've been trying not to leave you alone." She smiled.

"As sweet as that is of you, I don't want you to starve yourself to death because you worry too much." I chuckled and kissed her nose.

"You're in luck, Nicoleta. I can't die from starvation. At worst, I become really weak." She lost her smile.

"Wouldn't that make you more likely to……." I took her face in my hands.

"I won't let it get that bad. I promise. In fact, I'll go hunting tonight when you go to sleep." Her smile returned.

"That's all I ask." I smiled back at her and kissed her forehead. Then her hands moved up my neck and into my hair. "Let's go outside now." I smiled and nodded.

"Of course. I'll go get the mink coat and we'll be off." With that said, I ran out of the room and retrieved the mink coat. Once I'd found it, I ran back up to her room and put it on her. When she felt me putting on the coat, she looked at me surprised.

"My god, that was fast." I smiled and nodded.

"Like I said. I ran." She giggled and rested her head on my chest for a moment as she hugged me. I wrapped my arms around her and let one of my hands travel into her dark brown hair.

"Could I ask you to do something with my hair? I feel like it's just dead weight right now." I chuckled and kissed the top of her head.

"You're hair is never dead weight. It's beautiful no matter what."

"Still. It feels so underdressed compared to my dress." I smiled.

"In that case, yes. Take a seat and I'll see what to do." She did as I said and sat down in a chair in front of the full size mirror.

I brushed her hair to get rid of all the knots that had formed through the night that she might have missed and thought about a nice style while doing so. Eventually, I decided that, since we were going outside, it would be best to let some of her hair stay down. I ended up giving her a single French braid as a crown while half her hair stayed down over her neck.

When the braid was done and the coat was on, she took a hold of my hand and let me lead her out of her room. Normally such a slow walking pace would aggravate me. But with Nicoleta, I didn't mind at all. We finally reached the front door a few minutes after leaving her room. I heard her laugh to herself. I turned to face her, still guiding her with me to the door.

"What's so funny, my dear?" She smiled and me shyly.

"Nothing. It just seemed silly for us to be walking when last time you flew me out the window. I starting thinking that this speed must seem so slow to you." I couldn't help but smile to myself.

"I won't lie, it is quite slow. I normally just run everywhere. Everything gets done in half the time."

"I guess it would. Would you rather we run?" I smiled and turned completely to face her.

"As lovely as that sounds, I'm afraid you would get left behind if I run." She smiled.

"You could always carry me. You did so when we took the window." I chuckled and kissed the top of her head.

"If you wish. And when we're outside, I'll get you to laugh at someone's misfortune." She frowned halfheartedly as I lifted her into my arms.

"I most certainly will not laugh at such a thing." I chuckled again.

"We'll see about that, my love. We'll see." When she was secure in my arms, I ran back up the stairs and found a suitable window and jumped. I flew out of the castle and landed on the ground without so much as a crunch of the snow that was audible to her ears.

When the sun hit my skin, I started to shine and sparkle in the light. Nicoleta stared at what the sun did to me and I saw her show a small smile on her face. I started running again as soon as I hit the ground until we were under the cover of the trees and the sun only showed on my skin in small patches of light that escaped the tree branches and snow. When we came to a stop, I put her down on her feet and let her start to walk to regain her footing. She stopped a moment while I was walking nest to her and she took my hand again. I was sure to wear gloves in the hopes that her skin wouldn't get chilled. But I took out a pair of black leather gloves for her.

"Put these on, Nicoleta. I don't want your hands to get cold." She looked at the gloves I handed her and smiled.

"You have so many things. Where do you get all these?"

"Promise not to get upset if I tell you?" She looked at me curiously and nodded.

"Yes."

"I stole them from stores. While you were sleeping, I would keep the dogs on guard of the castle and go out to get you the things you needed." She half smiled.

"How did those things never attack me?"

"I ordered them not to. Like I said, the animals that were ingested with my venom obey my every word. When I tell them to keep you safe while I'm gone, they do it, no opposition, no questions asked."

"So as long as you order them to do something, they won't hurt me?" I nodded.

"Yes, that's right." I smiled then. "Now, let's see what I can do about schadenfreude." She rolled her eyes.

"Good luck with that." I chuckled and started thinking about what situation I could tell her about that would make her laugh.

"How many tries do I get?" She smiled.

"I'll give you a maximum of twenty stories. That should give you until sunset." I smiled.

"Alright. Let's see." I continued to think about a situation I could present to her that would make her laugh. Even a small giggle would do. "Alright, here's something that made me laugh."

"Okay."

"I was in Spain when this happened. Not Granada. I was actually in Cordoba." She smiled.

"Does this have anything to do with gypsies?" I shook my head.

"No, no gypsies. This one actually involved a priest." Her face became confused.

"Okay."

"Anyway, I was walking through the city at night and I caught a scent that I liked. It was around the time for me to feed anyway. The problem was that it was coming from the church. I waited at first, but I got fed up and just walked in."

"I'm assuming no one noticed your eyes?" I shook my head.

"Nope. No one was looking at my eyes. They were only looking at my face. But anyway, I followed the scent until I noticed who it was coming from."

"The priest?" I shook my head.

"No. A nun that was near the priest." Her eyes widened in shock.

"You killed a nun and a priest?!" I put two fingers over her lips.

"Let me finish, my dear." She was silent a moment before she sighed and nodded her head. "Anyway, there was a night service going on, so I decided to wait. The last thing I wanted was to draw unneeded attention to myself by jumping the nun."

"This is all supposed to make me laugh how?" I gave her a stern look.

"I'll get to the part that will make you laugh in a minute. Give me a chance to get to that." She sighed and nodded again. "Anyway, I waited for the service to be done before I did anything about my thirst.

"When the service was over, I had to wait for people to leave or for people to go into a booth for confession."

"Okay."

"The nun that I wanted to kill was at the front of the church lighting candles. I followed her until I was able to get her into a more private place. I was about to bite her when the priest from earlier yelled at me for attempting to 'romance a nun'."

"Well you shouldn't. Nuns are to be virgins." I chuckled and she gave me a critical look. "Why is that funny?"

"It's funny because I caught that nun and priest sleeping together later that night in one of the confessional booths." Her eyes widened at me and she almost gasped.

"No." I nodded.

"Yes. They'd been having an affair for at least three years at the time."

"And how do you know that?"

"I asked. I pretended to be highly offended by their infidelity and they confessed and begged me not to tell anyone."

"You just told me."

"Yes, but they're dead. I drank both of them. Besides, even if I hadn't, they would be dead by now. This happened in 1546." She gave me a blank look. "I see you're not humored by that little story." She shook her head.

"Forgive me, but I don't see how two people going against laws they swore to follow funny at all." I shrugged.

"No catholic jokes?" She shook her head.

"Please, no catholic jokes. I respect that you have a different view, just please don't insult mine."

"I wasn't insulting your views, my love. I was making fun of two people that went against the church. Nothing to do with the beliefs you have."

"Still. Obviously, that man wasn't a very devoted priest to do such an unholy thing."

"Aren't nuns supposed to be married to god or something?"

"They're married to the son of god." She corrected. "And that's why they never couple." I chuckle a little arrogantly.

"Of course, never." She stopped and crossed her arms to glare at me. She was glaring a moment before her glare softened a little. I sighed. "Alright, alright. I'll stop." She smiled a little then.

"Thank you." We started walking a little more before she spoke again.

"So that story didn't make you laugh." She shook her head.

"I'm afraid not."

"Then we'll have to try another one, won't we?"

"That's one story. You have nineteen more chances." I chuckled.

"I won't need all nineteen, my dear." She smiled and rolled her eyes. "What other story could I tell you?"

I thought about another option, avoiding anything that involved a catholic priest, though a lot of my stories involving them were pretty ironic. I thought a little more about every funny story I knew, trying to think of one she might like. After we were walking for a minute, I finally thought of something she would like.

"Okay. Here's another one." She smiled and looked at me.

"I'm listening." I smiled and kissed her cheek before I went on.

"This happened while I was in France. I was walking along the city one night when a man went into a diner with his date. But, it turns out that the woman he's cheating with is in that diner at the same time. He ends up running out of the diner covering his head while these two women are chasing him and hitting him with newspapers and a purse." She giggled under her breath. "Ha. I got you to laugh."

"That doesn't count. That man got what he deserved."

"Did it make you laugh?"

"Yes, but…."

"Did it make you glad that you weren't him or the other women?"

"I suppose, but….."

"Then you just laughed at a person's misfortune, hence I win." She gave me a sweet eye roll.

"Okay fine." I chuckled arrogantly and kissed her cheek.

"Now all you have to do is tell me what you want for your birthday."

"It doesn't matter. I'll love anything you get me." I sighed.

"Would you be happy if I gave you money?" She looked at me shocked.

"Of course not. Giving me money just means you didn't put any thought into my gift."

"So what you're saying is you wouldn't be happy with absolutely anything." She sighed in aggravation.

"Okay. Get me something nice that you put a lot of thought into. Is that more fitting an explanation?" I chuckled and nodded.

"Much better, my love, thank you." She giggled to herself and shook her head at me. "Would you like me to do the same for Christmas?" She looked at me. She smiled.

"Yes. Do the same with Christmas. Do the same any time you get me a gift. As long as it came from the heart, I'll love it." I smiled.

"Whatever you say, my love." Then her face became concerned.

"What could I get you? I don't know if there's anything I could give you." I chuckled a little under my breath and turned her to face me.

"The only thing I could want from you this Christmas, my love, is your company." She smiled sweetly at me again, and we continued walking through the woods for the rest of the afternoon. With her and me wearing gloves, we were able to walk together hand in hand without me getting her cold.

As the days past and it got closer to Christmas and her birthday, I thought about what would be something she would like. I was already getting her jewelry, but somehow, that didn't seem like enough. Anything material didn't seem like enough.

But then something came to mind. Something that she would be able to use and would love. It could be something she could enjoy all year round in different ways. It could be versatile. It wouldn't be hard to make sure she stayed inside for the time being, especially since her birthday was only five days away from the time I came up with the idea. Until her birthday, she could enjoy the necklace and bracelet I got for her.

But it also meant I would need to leave her for a few days. It would take a lot of traveling for me to acquire the raw materials I needed for this gift. And I was relieved to know that I could trust my animals. I'd once tested their will power by leaving a human in the middle of the room they stayed in and ordered them not to drink the human's blood. I hadn't expected them to listen to me, or even to last so long. They left him alone for a month and I finally let them have him when he died of thirst and starvation. I was relieved that I knew I could trust those animals with her life. So that's what I did. I placed dogs all around the castle and had bats put on constant patrol to fight off anything suspicious that was in the distance, and if they still came too close to the castle, the dogs could handle them. I wanted to leave Nicoleta in the best care possible, so I was extremely picky as to which of my dogs and bats would keep closest watch of Nicoleta. I picked them and stationed them while she slept and wrote a note for her that she would find in the morning and left fruits and meats in her room that she would be able to nibble on throughout the day while I was gone. I gave her sleeping face one last kiss, she smiled, and I was off.

**NPOV**

When I woke up in the early morning, I didn't smell anything savory next to my bed. I opened my eyes and noticed that there wasn't a tray of food next to me like there usually was. I lifted myself out of bed while looking at the empty space, confused. I looked around the room hoping to find Titus, but instead, I saw a large basket of fruits, muffins, meats, and bread with a pitcher of water and a glass next to it. I got out of bed and walked to the table confused. There wasn't a note or anything next to the food, which confused me even more.

I looked in the bathroom and found a bath drawn for me and still warm. There wasn't a note in there either. I looked in the armoire hoping to find one, but I still didn't see anything out of the ordinary. I walked to the doors to the balcony and let myself out to look out there, hoping I might see him in the yard. When I stepped outside, there were three bats hanging from the railing. They were looking out towards the yard and village. When I stepped out, they glanced at me, then looked back towards where they'd been watching.

One of the bats flew from his spot and grabbed gently onto one of my fingers. I held my hand out in front of me to see the rodent attached to me. He was looking at me with the reddest eyes I'd ever seen, but it looked almost playful. His wings were extended out in a playful manner and he even looked like he was smiling. He made his little sounds like he was chanting for something. His face wasn't compressed like a vampire bat. His face made him look more like a fox. It was really cute. His fur was a dark, reddish brown and his face had little spots above his eyes and down his snout. It reminded me of a dog. I smiled at him and he seemed to smile back.

I brought my other hand to him and rubbed his belly. He closed his eyes contentedly. But when I touched him, his skin was like stone and was cold. Not just from the winter winds. It was completely cold. His fur was wonderfully soft, but he was so hard. It seemed that vampire venom had the same effect on anything no matter what the creature it was contaminating. I also remembered Titus telling me that his venom made these creatures obey his every command. I wondered why he would have them out to begin with. With no note to turn to, I thought I'd take a shot and ask the creature.

"Can you tell me where Titus is?" I said while stroking the bat's belly. He came to attention moments before I even finished my question, then zoomed from my hand into the room to my door.

I stood still on the balcony a moment while the bat kept itself next to door. When I didn't immediately follow the little bat, he came back and flew over my head and back to the door and waited for me again. This time, I walked towards the door like the creature evidently wanted me to. When I reached the door, the bat, oddly enough, touched his nose to mine like a friendly gesture, then flew back to the balcony and took a perch on the railing with the other two bats.

I tried to listen and see if there was anything on the other side of the door that I should know was there. I brought my ear to the door and didn't hear anything. I opened the door to see if maybe my note was on the other side of the door. When it was fully opened, there was a large Rottweiler on the other side. It startled me at first. It scared me when I noticed its red eyes. I stepped back in fear, but the dog didn't growl at me or make a move to attack me. Instead, he came closer to me and gently pulled at the hem of my robe as if trying to ask me to follow him. So I did.

The Rottweiler didn't take me far. Simply to a table in the hallway that held a note. I practically ran to the note. It had my name on the envelope in his beautiful script and was sealed with red wax that held a dragon symbol. I assumed it was the coat of arms of Dracula's father. I broke the seal and took out the note that was tucked inside. I saw his beautiful handwriting and started to read.

_Nicoleta,_

_I am away on business. Worry not, I've not left you unprotected. The three bats at your balcony and the dogs surrounding the castle will keep you safe from intruders. The dog outside your door will be your primary protector. His name is Aquilius. He is a good protector and has been ordered to keep you safe at any cost. The three bats are Cyricus, Olcinius, and Viridio. Worry not, I will be back before Christmas. In the mean time, feel free to talk to the animals, pet them, whatever you like. Aquilius is a good one for listening to a story while getting his belly rubbed._

_I love you,_

_Titus_

After I read the note, I looked at the dog behind me and he was sitting watching me with his tail wagging and his bright red eyes hopeful. I simply smiled at the dog and contained a giggle. I took the letter with me into my room and placed it in my armoire with all the others. I helped myself to a pomegranate that was in the basket for me. The dog, Aquilius, followed me into my room and laid down at my feet while I ate. When I was finished eating, I picked a dress that suited me and put on my knickers and attempted tying the corset. To my surprise, two of the bats from the balcony came into my room to help me tie the corset. It startled me at first, but after the shock wore off, I let them do it. I felt like snow white, but with gruesome bats instead of sweet little birds. I almost felt like I should start singing. The thought made me smile to myself and I shook my head. I looked at Aquilius, who was now sitting next to me leaning against my leg. His skin was as much like granite as the bats and Titus.

When my corset was tied, I went to the bed and picked up my dress to put that on. When it was on, the bats started tying that too. It took them seconds to do it and they did it perfectly. When they were done, I went to my armoire and looked through my hair pieces. My dress was a greenish grey with hunter green lace at the front corset and at the end of my elbow length sleeves and the dress was off the shoulder. I found a pretty jade hair comb, so I folded my hair so the bottom flowed out and tied it at the base of my scalp and used the jade hair piece to hide the ends of my hair. I smiled when my handy work was done. Aquilius stood up with me and followed me out of my room and to the library. He was fast becoming the dog I always wanted. If it weren't for his red eyes, I would think he was a regular dog.

He sat next to me on the large chair as I read Picture of Dorian Grey and while I played the piano. The bats stayed at my balcony as far as I knew. They weren't following me around the way Aquilius was. He seemed to be alert at the slightest sound and ready to attack anything that he didn't like. As Titus suggested, I scratched his belly while he was laying next to me and he always had the cutest contented look on his face when I did. His fur was wonderfully soft as I petted him and would even groan occasionally.

I couldn't believe that this was the same dog that had rammed a dent into the steel door when I'd gotten too close. He seemed too sweet. And he had the most adorable doggy grin that he gave when I scratched behind his ears.

Aquilius remained my constant companion all the time Titus was away. When it was Christmas Eve and he still wasn't back, I'd begun to worry that he would be away a lot longer than I thought he would be. Then when it was Christmas day, I woke up to the feel of a hard, cold chest under my face and right hand with a hard, cold arm wrapped around me. I opened my eyes and saw Titus with a smile on his face. I smiled back to him enthusiastically.

"I thought you wouldn't make it back for Christmas." She gave me an arrogant smile and shook his head.

"I would never miss such a time with you."

"Where did you go?" He shrugged.

"The place that could give me your birthday present." I smiled wider with a small giggle.

"Are you going to tell me what that is?" His face became a mask of fake appall.

"Why would I do that when you can see it on your birthday? Be patient, my dear. I promise it will be worth the wait."

"I'm sure it will be. I can't wait to see it." I smiled and kissed the top of my head.

"And I can't wait to show it to you." Titus then rose up, taking me with him, and swung his legs over the edge and out of bed. He pulled me out of bed and held me tightly until I was sturdy. "But for now, your Christmas present will have to do."

"And I'm happy to get it."

Titus held my hand and led me with him out of my room and down the stairs to the large study. I could feel my breath be taken away when we got to the study. The fireplace was ablaze and there was an enormous tree in the corner that was covered top to bottom in ornaments of every color and lit candles. And at the very top was a huge bright angel with gold hair and a golden halo with her arms open to you as a sign of being welcome.

"What do you think?" I turned back around to face him with a wide smile.

"It's wonderful." He smiled.

"Good. It took a while to find a tree that was good enough." I giggled and wrapped my arms around his waist in a tight hug. He hugged me back.

"It's perfect. I could never ask for a better tree." I felt him smile as he kissed the top of my head.

"Now to open your presents." Then my eyes shot open and I looked up at him. He became concerned. "What's the matter, Nicoleta?"

"I have a gift for you, but I forgot it upstairs." He smiled and chuckled halfway through my sentence.

"No you didn't. I found a wrapped box with my name on it in your room. I took it down here and put it with your gifts." I smiled and sighed in relief.

"In that case." He chuckled under his breath and put his hand on the small of my back while he took me to the tree where all the presents were. There were four boxes that seemed to be for me while my smaller gift to him was lying on the ground next to his gifts to me.

He took me with him to the tree and we sat down at its base. He placed me next to the little growing mother. They looked so much like the ones my mother had. The largest hallow figurine was about nine inches tall and the smallest one was an inch and a half tall.

His gifts to me were all beautiful. They were large diamond necklaces engulfed with gold bands and emeralds and rubies. I was nervous when I gave him my gift. I knew Titus wasn't catholic, but it was something that meant a lot to me and that I wanted him to have.

"I don't know if you'll like it or not." He smiled.

"I'll love it because it's from you." I smiled and he leaned over to me and kissed my lips sweetly and quickly before returning his full attention to his gift.

He tore through the newspaper I'd found and the ribbon in seconds. When he opened the box, his faced turned in confused then he looked up at me. He took out my gift to him.

"Your rosary?" I nodded and smiled nervously.

"Yes. My father gave it to me when I was little. He told me that as long as I had it I would always be safe from evil. I want you to have it. Think of it as a little gift that will always keep me close to you."

He looked surprised for a moment and looked at the rosary again, looking at it carefully. It wasn't anything really special. My father had crafted it himself from rosewood. Once he'd looked at it a moment, he smiled and looked at me with a sincerely grateful look.

"Thank you, my love. I'll treasure its value as you did before me. Credo in Deum Patrem omnipotentem, Creatorem caeli et terrae. Et in Iesum Christum, Filium eius unicum, Dominum nostrum, qui conceptus est de Spiritu Sancto, natus ex Maria Virgine, passus sub Pontio Pilato, crucifixus, mortuus, et sepultus, descendit ad inferos, tertia die resurrexit a mortuis, ascendit ad caelos, sedet ad dexteram Dei Patris omnipotentis, inde venturus est iudicare vivos et mortuos. Credo in Spiritum Sanctum, sanctam Ecclesiam catholicam, sanctorum communionem, remissionem peccatorum, carnis resurrectionem, vitam aeternam. Amen." I smiled.

"The Apostle's Creed." He smirked.

"I didn't know you spoke Latin." I shook my head.

" I don't. I just know all my prayers in Latin. That's how I learned them."

"Do you know what they mean?"

"Not the words, but I know what the prayer is about." He chuckled and rolled his eyes.

"It figures I suppose." I was about to ask him what he meant by that, but he saw the look in my eyes and shook his head. "Forgive me, Nicoleta. That was rude of me to say." I sighed.

"It's alright." He smiled and scooted closer to me.

"So you aren't upset with me?" I couldn't help but giggle at his eagerness. I nodded.

"No. I'm not upset." His smile became cocky.

"Umquam Indulgeo." I looked at him confused.

"What?" He chuckled.

"Nothing important my love. Nothing at all." I was about to say more, but he brought his lips to mine in a sweet kiss.

I had expected his kiss to be quick and innocent like his kisses usually were. But this kiss held more passion, more fire. He lifted his hand to my neck and made me shiver from his cold touch. I followed his lead as his lips moved. He sucked on my bottom lips and licked my lips. I sighed and when I did, he delved his tongue in. I was surprised at first, but was immediately loving the sensation and didn't bother to stop him. My hands went to his face and I moaned again. I felt him smile when I did. Then his hands trailed into my hair.

He then pulled my hair gently, asking me to lean my head back. I did as he asked and out lips parted. But they were soon kissing my neck from the hollow of my throat to the hollow of my ear. I shivered from the sensation. As a closing to the act, he ran the tip of his tongue along my neck, kissed my chin, then let go of my hair. I brought my head back and looked at him. My hands which had gone to his shoulders remained where they were.

"Titus." It was all I said. He smiled at me in response and brought me to him. I rested my head on his cold hard chest and wrapped my arms around his waist. He laid back and took me with him, wrapping his arms around my waist and shoulders.

That's what we did for the rest of that morning. He held me close to him in an embrace that was too loving to be the arms of a vampire. The next day went by with nothing special happening. But Titus did have a silly, excited grin most of the day. I would have never been able to tell if I didn't know him so well, but it was there. When it was my birthday, I woke up to the smell of pancakes. My mouth started watering when I opened my eyes and realized they were German pancakes.

"Morning, Nicoleta." I looked up and saw Titus sitting in a chair next to my bed with that same excited grin on his face.

"Why are you in that chair?"

"I didn't want to disturb you. Every time I hold you while you sleep, you wake up too early. I wanted to give you a day to sleep in." I smiled.

"How gentlemanly of you." I looked at his clothes at last after spending what felt like a glorious eternity on looking at his face. He was wearing a pair of formal black pants with a while shirt and black suspenders. On the chair, I thought I saw a red vest. "You look dressed up today." He smiled and nodded.

"You turn nineteen today. Happy Birthday Nicoleta." I smiled wider and lifted myself from my bed to sit up.

"I wonder. Is there any way you could find out when your birthday is?" He shook his head.

"I'm afraid not. I tried looking myself up in records. All it said was that I was a murderer and that my former occupation was a meat vender of some nature. It didn't say anything about my date of birth or age." I nodded sadly.

"That's too bad." He shrugged.

"It doesn't matter. I don't really want to celebrate my birthday. There's no point."

"Of course there's a point. It's your day." He shrugged.

"No. It's another advancement of my life. I can't make any further advances, physically, anymore. There's no point. I'd rather celebrate your birthday." I wanted to argue further, but I chose against it. It was a fight I wouldn't win.

I took time eating my breakfast as Titus and I talked pleasantly. He asked me what I'd done for previous birthdays. None of them had been really eventful. Whenever it was my birthday, my parents would congratulate me, give me a carved rock figurine, pat me on the back, then give me my list of chores for the day. Titus laughed and assured me that wouldn't be the case today.

When I was done with my breakfast, Titus gave me a purple dress for me to wear, tied it up for me, and draped the mink coat onto my shoulders. I put my arms through the large open sleeves and put on the white gloves he handed me. When my clothes were on, he covered my eyes with a purple blindfold and lifted me into his arms.

"Titus, what are you doing?" He chuckled and kissed my neck. I shuddered when he kissed me.

"I'm surprising you. It's time to see your birthday present." I smiled.

"Really?"

"Yes, really." I felt him start to move, then I felt us going really fast. We were probably outside for several seconds before I realized the cold. I said nothing as I waited for him to stop and put me down.

When we were at the spot he wanted to take me to, he gently put me back on my feet and turned me to face the direction he wanted me to face. He pushed me forward gently and I walked forward like he was asking me to. When we were in the right place, he held me still, then lifted his hands to the tie of my blindfold.

"Are you ready, my love?" I nodded.

"Yes, I'm ready." First, I felt something go around my neck. I reached up to touch it. It was hard and smooth. Then my blindfold was removed.

When my eyes were free to see, I was amazed at what I saw. It was a huge gazebo like structure. It was a dark, shinny color and it was, oddly enough, enveloped in flowers. O then realized the flowers shined too.

"The structure itself was made from black stained glass." I looked around at him.

"Truly?" He nodded proudly.

"Yes. Entirely of glass. The glass isn't on the ground. The ground is bare. It's only the pillars and roof. The sun can easily shine through it during summer and fall. And the flowers are made entirely out of jade." I looked around at him and my eyes widened.

"But they look so real." He smiled.

"They were supposed to. It's enveloped in every color rose and orchids and Hibiscus and plumeria flowers. And each rose is surrounded by baby's breath made out of white gold and diamonds. And the glass benches are surrounded by red jade roses and diamond forget-me-nots." I held onto the necklace and looked at that. It was a crescent moon whose opening faced heavenward with a star in the middle. It looked to be made of stone. The chain that held it was attached to it and was also a hard stone.

"What's this?" He smiled.

"It's a Roman symbol for the stars. That's what I was wearing when I was human. It was around my neck when I'd changed. It's the only thing about me that's still human. I want you to have it." I felt my eyes tear up a little. "You hold me humanity, Nicoleta."

"Oh Titus." His smile widened when I fell into his arms and wrapped my arms around his neck. While there, I realized he was wearing my rosary, and the tears came then. "Thank you, Titus. I love it. The necklace, the outside patio. All of it. It's more than I deserve." He shook his head.

"You do deserve it, Nicoleta. More than anyone." He kissed the top of my head. "I love you, Nicoleta."

"I love you too, Titus."

When I said those words, Titus took a gentle hold of my chin and tilted my head up to face him. He then brought his lips to mine in a passionate kiss. His tongue immediately entered and brushed every part of my mouth, turning me into no more than a puddle. I moaned and attempted to do the same to him. When I did, he held me tighter to him. Not enough to hurt me. Only enough that it was tighter. I sighed with joy and he lifted me into his arms bridal without taking his lips from mine. He took his lips away from mine, but only long enough to seat me down on the glass bench. When he was sitting next to me, he brought his lips to mine yet again. I was only too happy to let him continue his masterful passion. I lowered my hands to rest on his shoulders and his hands pulled me closer while resting on the small of my back. He stopped when I started trembling from the cold instead of his love. When he stopped, he looked at me with the sincerest look of love in his eyes and brought me onto his lap. I rested my head on his chest with his arms wrapped around me lovingly.

We remained like that for the rest of the afternoon. I fell asleep on his chest. When I woke up again, we were still outside and I was still in his arms. I smiled when I saw his face again. It was such a beautiful face. The highest form of masculinity and the purest, most perfect form. And that face was smiling at me with love. It made me melt all over again. And when he kissed me, I could swear I was melting into his arms.


	5. Nuptialis

**Nuptialis**

**Summer, 1889**

**NPOV**

I was sitting outside on my porch looking at the flowers. Even after having it for three years, it still baffled and amazed me. To this day, I couldn't recall a single flower or petal being even slightly out of place or broken. I imagined that animals must come through here all the time, but Titus always assured me that any evidence of their being near my porch would be wiped away before I ever saw it. Titus was sitting next to me with his arm around my shoulders. It was hot outside and his cold skin was a nice relief from that. We weren't really talking much at the moment. I was simply reading one of the new books that Titus had brought to the library. He was running his fingers slowly through my hair repeatedly and the feeling always made me feel like I would melt.

It took me a few hours to finish the book I was reading, but Titus stayed quiet the whole time without complaint and let me read. It was a sunny day out, so that made the day all the more pleasant. I was glad that the glass was covering us from the sun, though. Titus' skin glowing would have been quite a distraction, as nice as it would be. When I was done reading, Titus leaned in to me and kissed my neck.

"How was it?" I shrugged.

"It was nice. I was never a fan of scary stories, but I'll admit that this was okay." He chuckled.

"So Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde was a hit and miss?" I giggled and nodded my head.

"I'm sorry to say so, but yes." He smiled and me and kissed my ear.

"It's alright. It didn't sound like something you'd be interested in anyway. I was more interested in reading it myself." I looked into his eyes as I spoke next.

"And what did you think of it?" He shrugged.

"I found the idea the author presented was interesting. Split personalities are rarely ever that severe, but, then again, for the sake of the story, I think it was rather good."

"What are split personalities usually like?"

"Well, for starters, there's not often only two. That's not to say there's never only two, of course. But split personality disorder is something that one isn't born with, it's something that is forced upon someone depending on their lifestyle. For example, let's say that a person was abused physically and verbally. That person is likely to create new personalities within themselves to help them cope with the situation at hand. What's also funny about it is that the real person doesn't always know about them, but the other personalities can know. It's a very strange occurrence, but quite fascinating." I smiled.

"I don't recall Freud ever talking about such a thing." He chuckled and shook his head.

"It's not a Freud theory. It's far too innocent to be a Freudian theory. It is a very new concept though. Most people think split personalities aren't possible. I suspect it will take quite some time before anyone ever takes that disorder seriously."

"Is it dangerous?" He shrugged.

"It can be. It depends on the personalities. Something to the extent of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde would certainly be a danger to society. But something more subtle wouldn't hurt. Maybe a little girl who has another personality and thinks she's a princess or a doctor. That wouldn't be as destructive. Annoying, perhaps, but no more than that."

"Why would no one take that seriously?" He shrugged.

"The only reason I can think of, my love, is ignorance. It's an evil thing. Ignorance has been the root of many human exploits. Need I mention the crusades?" He said the last part with a bit of sarcasm in his voice. I gave him a lecturing look.

"Why do you hate Catholics so much?" His face stayed humored.

"I don't hate Catholics, my dear. I hate all religion in general."

"Hate is such a strong word Titus." He shrugged.

"I'm sorry to be honest with you, my love, but that's the way it is. Religion never did me any good and I've seen humans cause little more than unneeded fuss over unneeded fuss over it. Call me crazy, but I was always under the impression that religion was what one chose for it to be. I think it's stupid, for lack of a better word, to fight over something so trivial."

"Religion isn't trivial."

"I think it is, my love. God is what a person wants him to be." I rolled my eyes.

"But some people's opinions are wrong." He gave me a surprised, lecturing look.

"And who are you to say someone's beliefs are wrong?" That had me silent. I wasn't sure what to say in response to that, because no one had ever told the priest I heard it from otherwise. He sighed and held my cheek in his hand. "I'm not saying you shouldn't believe what you do, my love. All I'm saying is don't try to force in onto others." I shook my head.

"I never force it onto you." He smiled.

"I know. And for that, I'm glad. Keep doing that." He crossed my arms and gave him a fake angry face.

"Well, maybe I should take back my cross if you feel so little for it." He chuckled and kissed my cheek.

"You gave it to me, my love. I love it because of that." I smiled.

"I know. I was just teasing." He smiled back and kissed my nose.

"I know, my love." He kissed my nose again and it made me smile wider.

Then he brought his lips to mine in a tender, loving kiss. I lifted my hands up his chest and around his neck. Then he wrapped his arms around my waist and stood up from the glass bench, lifting me with him. I stood on the tip of my toes to reach him and pulled myself up with my arms around his neck. He lifted me up a little, but let his hands travel. They went straight into my hair and started massaging my scalp. It made me light headed and I couldn't seem to breathe. Then those hands went back down to my neck and caressed gently. But then I felt something else around my neck that wasn't there. It felt like metal. I took my hand from around his neck and to my neck where the metal piece was. I took it in my hand and brought it up so I could see it.

It was a cross. It was white gold and the necklace was tight around my throat, but loose enough so I could breathe. Then in the middle was a large, five karat diamond. Descending from that was more white gold that held onto a cross. The pendant itself was shapely. There were two pieces of white gold entwining into one another to form a cross. The tip of each part held a small, one karat diamond and in the middle was a two karat ruby. The cross rested on my chest just above the crescent moon holding the star. I looked at Titus with awed surprise.

"Titus."

"I made that for you. I know how special the one you gave me was to you, so I wanted to make you another one. It took me a while to come up with something that seemed right." I started smiling and looked at the rosary again.

"It's beautiful." I looked back to him. "It always amazes me how good you are at these sorts of things." He smiled.

"It comes from centuries of free time." I giggled at his sarcasm.

"I suppose one would be talented with that much time on his hands."

He took me back inside after that. We went straight to the library and put back the book I'd read. I spotted a book that I didn't remember seeing before. I pulled it out and looked at the cover. Titus was suddenly standing behind me and kissed my bare neck and rested his chin on my shoulder after wrapping his arms around my waist.

"The Scarlet Letter."

"Is it any good?" I asked. He looked at me a little surprised.

"You've never read Scarlet Letter?" I looked at him and shook my head. "You'd love it. It's about a woman whose husband is away on business and she has an affair and gets pregnant. She refuses to tell who the father of the child is and is hated and punished by all her friends and family for her infidelity." I smiled and kissed him.

"That sounds so sad."

"It is. But it's a good story. You should read it." He gave me another kiss and handed me the book. He took me with him to the piano and sat me down on the bench next to him. When he was seated, he started playing the piano for me.

I started reading with him playing music to me in the background. Titus left only for a moment to bring me some dinner. It was some cooked polish sausage with sauerkraut and some coffee. He went back to playing and I ate my dinner as I finished the last few chapters of the book. When it was done, I put it on top of the piano and looked at him. He kept playing and smiled at me before he spoke.

"So what did you think?"

"It was sweet. I admire her for not saying who the father was. And I'm glad the father came clean about it. But somehow, I get the feeling you enjoy the fact that the man she committed adultery with was a priest." He chuckled and reached over to kiss my cheek, still playing the piano.

"I found it ironic. I will say no more." I smiled at him and shook my head gently from side to side at him.

"What am I going to do with you?" He grinned.

"I'm sure you'll think of something." He gave me another sweet kiss, then went back to playing the piano.

By the end of the day, I was oddly tired. Titus carried me upstairs to my room and simply rested me on my bed and let me fall asleep. I woke up to the smell of French toast and fresh syrup with some milk. I opened my eyes and Titus was lying next to me on my bed smiling at me. I turned over to face him with the same smile. I brought my hand up and started brushing his face and running my fingers through his short dark hair. He kept smiling at me as I did so. This had become something I did often. It always felt too good to be real. After a moment, he took my hand in his and kissed my palm and wrist. His nose lingered at my wrist for a moment before he kissed there again.

"Titus." He looked at me and I saw his eyes. They were bright scarlet red. I kept smiling.

"Yes, my love?"

"Just checking." He smiled and chuckled under his breath at me. "Did you hunt last night?" He nodded.

"Yes."

"You're eyes were starting to look black for a while." He nodded.

"Yes, I know." He scooted a little closer to me on the bed and kissed my nose. "You know what's funny?" I shook my head. "I never used to wait that long before hunting."

"I figured a month was the longest you could wait." He shrugged.

"It was the longest I'd been willing to wait before. Now I've started going for three whole months without it." My eyes widened.

"Is that healthy?" He chuckled.

"Nicoleta, I can't starve to death. If anything, the thirst slows me down a bit. But I've gone longer without blood before in more extreme circumstances. One time, I made the mistake of traveling through Russia in winter. When I tried to get back to the warmer part of Europe, I ended up going through Finland."

"It's not like those countries don't have people."

"True. But these are countries that practically turn to solid ice in the winter. No human in their right mind is outside during these climates, especially at night. When I could travel, the wind and snow blew human scents all over the place. It was hard to pinpoint where each one was going. I had to wait until I finally made it to Germany. Germany's a lot more reasonable in the winter. And more people were out at night."

"How long was that?"

"Four months. And that's still not the longest." I sighed.

"What is the longest then?"

"A solid two years." My eyes did widen then.

"How did that happen?" He shrugged.

"Countries weren't populated at the time like they are now. You would remember the issue as the Black Plague." I shuddered when he said that. I knew what it was and every time I heard about it, it made me shudder for some reason.

"I suppose that would pose a problem. But they still have blood even in death. Why didn't you drink that?"

"Because alive or dead, infected blood is revolting. You can tell when a human's sick just by the taste of their blood. And the after taste left from the Plague is enough to make us vomit the blood up."

"I never thought vampires did that." He nodded.

"It's rare, but when blood is bad enough, it happens. That plague blood was impossible to keep down. And when you did find a human with clean blood, you usually weren't the only vampire that found it. And, of course, everyone was so weak from hunger that fighting depended entirely on who was smarter than who."

"If that's the case, then why did you have to wait two years before getting food?" He chuckled.

"How sweet my love." He kissed me sweetly, then continued. "But like I said, a clean human was like a diamond in the rough at the time. You were lucky to find one. And in some cases, it depended on who found the clean human first. And sadly enough, that wasn't always me." I brought my hand to his face again and caressed soothingly.

"Poor baby." He chuckled again and kissed my hand.

"Indeed. There's nothing more frightening than a vampire that hasn't fed in a while. They have a habit of jumping at anything they see. Sometimes, fights would break out between vampires because one was so hungry that he had mistaken the other for a human."

"With your eyes, or even human eyes, mistake a vampire for a human?"

"Like I said, when we're hungry, our judgment gets severely clouded."

"That's horrible." He smiled.

"Not really. Believe it or not, by that time, a lot of us were so delirious that we were trying to joke the whole thing away. Once the attacker realized his prey was another vampire, he would apologize and both would have a story to tell for the rest of their lives." I giggled.

"Did that ever happen to you?" He nodded with a humored smirk on his face.

"As a matter of fact, yes it did. And it's a funny story actually. You'll get a kick out of it." I smiled.

"Tell me." He grinned and went on with his story.

"Well, I was walking around in what today would be called France. I saw someone in the distance as I was traveling, but immediately knew them to be a vampire, so I ignored them and went about my business. Unfortunately, that other vampire thought I was human and attacked me. A few other vampires were in the area and they started attacking me too. I tried fighting them off, but they started coming from everywhere. One of them ripped off my left arm, the other my right leg, and that's when they realized I wasn't human. You would think the feel of my skin alone would have been a big give away, but evidently not. When they realized I wasn't human, they all apologized and were kind enough to put me back together. We all laughed about it for a few minutes then went about our own business." I stared at him wide eyed with my mouth gaping open.

"That's horrible!" He started to chuckle.

"Everyone else I've told thinks it's funny." I started smacking his chest, even knowing that it would do me no good.

"It's not funny. It's awful and horrible and not funny at all." He started laughing then. It was his rare, loud laugh that I think only I've ever heard. He fell back onto my bed and kept laughing. I was fighting back a laugh and kept smacking him. "Stop laughing, Titus. It's not funny!"

"Yes it is." He forced the words through his laughter. "You should have seen the look on your face, my love. It was a sight to see." I kept fighting a smile, but stopped smacking him. It wasn't doing a thing.

"It was not! Why does being torn apart strike you as funny?" His laugh had calmed, but he still had a large grin on his face.

"It's satirical humor my love, making fun of something that's not usually funny."

"It's not funny at all." He grinned wider.

"Then why are you smiling, my love?" I hadn't realized I was smiling. I tried fighting it back, but he wouldn't let me. He took hold of my waist and twirled me to the other side of the bed with him and onto my back and brought himself on top of me. Now I was giggling from his playfulness and he knew that. But I think he just wanted to tease me some more. "Now you're laughing, so it must be funny." I smacked his shoulder.

"I'm not laughing at your story. That's an awful joke." He chuckled again and shook his head lightly with humor.

"If you say so, darling." I smiled at the nickname and lifted my head up slightly. When I did, he brought his head down, closer to me, and kissed me. My eyes immediately closed at the feel of his lips.

Our kiss was innocent at first. But then he deepened the kiss by poking between my lips with his tongue. I've become so used to the feel of his tongue. It had a lot more give than the rest of his body. It was more like hard silk as opposed to granite. I opened for him and sighed at the feel. I brought my arms around his neck again and tried to bring him closer to me. He came closer to me like I wanted him to but still kept all his weight on his elbows so as not to crush me.

He brushed my cheek lovingly with his thumb and his other hand rubbed my shoulder with the same loving tenderness. My hands went into his hair and pulled lightly when his tongue tickled the roof of my mouth. I tried doing the same thing to him. I avoided his teeth as we kissed. Once when we were kissing, he'd licked my teeth and I'd liked it, so I tried it on him. I ended up cutting my tongue and he had to suck the poison out of my tongue. I'd avoided his teeth ever since.

One of his hands moved into my hair and rubbed my scalp gently. I was beginning to have a hard time breathing. After a moment of him kissing me and his hand brushing my scalp, my head dropped on the pillow with a breathy sigh. He chuckled and was looking at me when I opened my eyes. He was giving me my favorite charming smile that made me melt. I smiled back.

"I should probably stop doing that." I shook my head.

"No. I like it when you do that. It makes me feel light headed." He chuckled and kissed my nose.

"If you say so, my love." I smiled and he kissed my nose again. When he took his face away, he had back that sweet subtle grin that he had earlier.

"What are you up to, Titus?" He gave me an innocent, surprised look.

"What makes you think I'm up to something?" I giggled and pulled myself up to a sitting position while my hands were still in his hair. He sat up with me.

"I don't know. The past few days, you've just looked like you were planning something." His grinned widened subtly and stood up from the bed after taking my hands from his hair and held my hands.

"If I am planning something, my love, believe me it will always be something you will love." I smiled and blushed a little. Then he took a secure hold of me and lifted me off the bed. His hands ran along my silk covered arms and looked at the robe I was wearing. "But for now, let's get you dressed for the day." I smiled and nodded my head.

"Alright." He led me with him to my armoire and opened it up and started looking through the large selection I had. He pulled out a dress that took me by surprise. I didn't recognize it, so it must have been new.

I saw all of it when he rested it on the bed and went back to the armoire to get shoes, which took him seconds. The dress was a bright red dress. It looked a little different than my other dresses because it wasn't as full at the bottom as the others. It was sleeveless, but wrapped around the shoulder with satin. The satin had designs of roses and green leaves and vines. When he put it on me, it fit tightly around my chest and waist and flowed out freely at the hips. The dress seemed to go on for miles, even in the high heeled shoes I was wearing. But the dress was beautiful. I was just barely the same height as Titus. I only had to glance up now to be able to see his scarlet eyes. I realized the dress was the same color as his eyes.

"It's beautiful." He grinned.

"I was hoping you'd like it."

"But now I know you're planning something." He chuckled.

"Like I said, my love. If I am, it's something you'll love." I smiled at him and closed the small distance between us and went into his arms.

"I trust you, Titus." He smiled.

"I'm happy to hear that." He gave me another sweet kiss, and led me with him towards the balcony of the room.

He opened the French doors and took me out with him to the outward railing. When we got there, He lifted me into his arms and jumped gracefully onto the railing and off into the garden down below. When we were at the ground, he put me on my feet and held my hand as we walked through the gardens and to my little glass and jade gazebo. Then I looked at the glass bench and saw a large bouquet of jade flowers that wasn't there before. They were the same flowers that were around my gazebo, but not a single one was missing from the original structure. I looked at him with a large smile. He was smiling at me with that same silly grin.

"Are those new?" He grinned wider and nodded. He wasn't hiding anymore. He was letting me see how happy he was, though I still wasn't sure what it was he was so happy about.

"I made them for you last night while you were asleep."

"What's the occasion?" He grinned impossibly wider.

"You'll find out in a moment. For now, go to your flowers." I smiled sweetly at him and turned around to the glass bench that held my flowers. I picked them up and held them to me close.

"They're beautiful, Titus." I felt his arms wrap around me when I said those words. His chin rested on my shoulder and he kissed my neck.

"Are they?" I nodded.

"They're beautiful. I can't believe you made them so fast and they're so perfect." He chuckled.

"Vampires are fast creatures, my love. And when you have eyesight like mine, you're able to avoid messing up."

"I would love them anyway." He chuckled again and kissed my ear this time. He even licked the hollow of my ear and it made me shutter. I loved how he could be so intimate with me but he never did more than kiss my neck. Today, he seemed oddly intimate, though. But I didn't mind at all.

"But why love them when they have chips when you could have smooth perfection?" I giggled.

"That's never a good way to see things."

"It is when you're talking about handmade jade flowers." I turned around in his arms still holding the bouquet of jade roses. He kept his arms wrapped around me and ran his hands up and down my back.

"Will you tell me what you're up to now?" He chuckled and kissed me. The kiss lasted for several moments before he took his lips away from mine and stepped away from me. He was standing in front of me holding onto my arms and caressing my arms gently.

"My, aren't we impatient." He smiled and I smiled back. After a second of silence, his face became very serious. "I love you, Nicoleta." I smiled wider.

"I love you too, Titus." He smiled lightly, but his face remained serious.

"Nicoleta." He was silent a second. "Are you happy here?" I was taken by surprise by his question, but smiled and nodded.

"Happier than I've ever been, Titus." He grinned at me.

"I'm happy you're happy, my love." He brought both my hands to his lips and kissed them lovingly. The action made me smile wider. Then his face became guilty. "I've taken so much from you in my own selfishness." I shook my head.

"Of course not, Titus." He silenced me by putting his two forefingers on my lips.

"Let me finish, my love." I nodded when he took his fingers from my lips. "I've taken a lot from you. I took you away from your family with the intention of killing you. Then I ended up keeping you not sure what my intentions were. I left you almost completely alone with hardly any companionship for a whole year and have been your only companion for the past three years. First in letters, then finally face to face. I've kept you isolated, refused to let you out of my sight or the sight of one of my dogs, I even murdered one of you childhood friends in the hopes of being able to keep you here." I gave him a weird look.

"I thought you said you killed him because he was bitten." He nodded.

"I did. But at the same time, I could have saved him by simply drinking out the virus."

"Why didn't you do that then?" His face was guilty, but somehow I got the feeling he didn't feel bad at all.

"Because he would have come back with more people and try to take you back." I kept a straight face through my question, but started clutching the flowers closer to me.

"You don't feel sorry, though." It was more a statement of the obvious rather than a question. He took the guilty look of his face and looked serious again.

"No. I wish I could tell you otherwise, but I can't." I looked at him a moment, not sure what to say at first.

"Why are you telling me this now?"

"Because I want you to really know me. I want you to be sure of me." The statement confused me. But for the sake of the conversation, I ignored it and kept going.

"I love you, Titus. I trust you and I know you would keep me safe no matter what. You've been kind to me and you love me. That's more than I've ever had before in my life. I didn't feel like I did at first, but now I realize I owe you a lot for everything you've done for me." Titus shook his head.

"You don't owe me anything, Nicoleta." He brought one of his hands to my cheek. "You've given me love in return when I deserved no less than your contempt." I was about to say something, but he put his fingers on my lips again to silence me. He gained back that grin that he'd had for most of the week. "You mean everything to me, Nicoleta. You're the only person in my entire long life that I've ever felt a thing for. Even when I first met you, something about you made me need you. And to this day, I need you as much as I did then. More even. I never thought I would ever need anyone, especially the way I need you. And I love you more than anything or anyone. You're the only thing that means anything to me." I finally smiled again.

"I love you too, Titus." He smiled and kissed me. Then he breathed out his nose as if to calm himself.

"I believe, when I took you, I stole you away from a prior marriage proposal."

"I don't mind in the least. I wouldn't have been happy. I would have just been sitting around waiting for him to die of old age with a stepson older than me." He chuckled.

"That's a shame. I'm glad you didn't have to go through that." I nodded.

"So am I." He kept smiling. Then he took his hands away from mine.

"I'm hoping that you might be more open to another man." Before I could ask what he meant, he got down on one knee and took my left hand in his. I suddenly couldn't breathe again as I realized what it was he was doing. "I was thinking a much older man that didn't look his age." When he said that, there was suddenly a ring on my finger.

The ring was flawless in every way. It looked like something he would make for me. In the middle of the white gold band was a large, four karat diamond. That was surrounded by smaller diamonds and balls of white gold. The ring sparkled in the sun and from the light of his skin from the sun. It was mesmerizing. I couldn't take my eyes off the ring until I heard him start to speak in his velvet voice again. I looked right at him when he started talking.

"Nicoleta Anna Nastase," now I really couldn't breathe, "will you marry me?" My heart was racing. I knew he heard it. Even I could hear it. Everything in the world seemed to come to a complete halt as I looked at him. He waited patiently for my answer. I think he somehow knew that I was trying to still my heart and keep my head from spinning. I never expected him to propose to me. I never thought something like that would mean anything to him. It took longer than I thought it should have taken, but I was finally able to answer him. When I spoke, my voice was weak from avoiding tears as I smiled at him and nodded.

"Yes." Tears started coming then. "Yes, I'll marry you, Titus Valerius." He smiled wider and stood up again, never taking his eyes away from mine.

When he was standing again, he took the flowers from me and placed them on the bench again. When they were there, he came back to me and lifted me into his arms for a loving and passionate kiss. I wrapped my arms around his neck and held onto him as tightly as I could. When our lips touched, I noticed for an instant that he stopped breathing, but immediately stopped thinking about it. He gently sucked on my lip and I tried sucking on his. It was like sucking on candy. A type of candy that was rare and could only be bought with loads of pocket money.

I tried breathing in his scent as he kissed me and tasting him at the same time. His taste became more potent when his tongue brushed my lips and came in. I moaned when he came in and that made his exploration more eager and pleasurable. His hands went to my waist and started gliding up and down slowly. It made me shudder and moan again. Suddenly, his lips were away from mine and he lifted me into his arms again with a wide smile. His teeth were shining almost as much as his skin. The sight took my breath away. I finally spoke as he started walking us through the gardens just holding me.

"When should we have the ceremony?" He smiled at me lovingly as he walked around the garden.

"As soon as I can arrange it. And as soon as you find a dress of course."

"Where are we going to find a dress?"

"I'll find you a nice store and you can pick. I'll give you plenty of money so you can pick something you'll love. And while you're doing that, I'll find myself a suitable tuxedo for our wedding." I gave him a sad face.

"You're not coming with me to find a dress?" He shook his head with a chuckle.

"My love, it's bad luck for me to see the dress before the wedding. And worry not. I'll get you something from the village you can burrow. And I'll make you something new, something blue and there are plenty of old things in the castle that you can use. Everything you need." I smiled.

"No bridesmaids or a best man?" He shook his head.

"Truthfully, my love, the only close friends I have are Vladimir and Stefan and frankly, I prefer for them to know as little about my life as possible. And as far as bridesmaids are concerned, I'm not sure how well that would work out considering most of your friends, I'm assuming, are catholic." I crossed my arms at him.

"Why is that a problem?" He chuckled at my tone.

"I doubt your catholic friends, or any friends for that matter, would respond well to the news of you marrying a vampire. They'd try to turn the wedding into an exorcism and extermination. Call me crazy, darling, but I figured we'd want a nice, quiet ceremony." I giggled and shook my head.

"Alright, you have a point I suppose." He chuckled and kissed my cheek.

"Of course I am, my love." We both shared a laugh as he sat down under a tree and rested me on his lap. I moved in his lap as we laughed. The vibrations from his gentle laugh felt oddly wonderful.

For most of the afternoon, we talked about when we should arrange to have the wedding. I didn't bring up what kind of wedding I wanted. I figured any wedding was a good wedding since I was marrying the man I loved that once stared in my nightmares. There were several times in the afternoon where we would stop talking and begin to kiss. Every kiss was passionate and loving, just like every kiss he's ever given me. And whenever we were talking, I was usually looking at my ring. Even in dim lighting from cover of the trees, it still seemed to sparkle, even when Titus' skin was dim from the shade.

When lunch rolled around and I started getting hungry, he revealed that he'd had a pomegranate in his coat the whole time and forced it in half for me. I rested my head on his shoulder while I ate my pomegranate and he rubbed my back tenderly with his hand. I had gotten so used to his cool skin, that I barely felt the cold anymore. I was simply very used to it. It had even become more soothing to me than warmth. When I was half way through the first half of my fruit, I looked up at him.

"What?" I smiled back at him.

"Do you want some?" He chuckled and shook his head.

"It's alright my love. Human food tastes revolting to me."

"Why?" He shrugged.

"My guess is that a vampire's taste buds are altered to be different from those of a human. Every human has different tastes, but ours is significantly different."

"Makes sense I think."

"Don't take my word on it. It's a guess." I smiled at him.

"Aren't your guesses usually right?" He chuckled and kissed my nose.

"You'd be right about that, darling." I smiled and picked out one of the pomegranate seeds and held it in front of his mouth.

"Just a small taste." He smiled and didn't respond further. "I'll make it worth your while." He rose an eyebrow at me.

"How so?"

"Open and find out." He smiled and opened his mouth only enough for me to put the seed in his mouth.

When the seed was there, I rested my finger on his teeth and applied pressure. He was surprised at first, but let me do so. I felt a small sting from his teeth and from his venom. When my blood was drawn, he began to suck gently, removing the venom that went into my blood. The sting from his venom immediately left my finger, but the sting of the cut remained. He breathed a contented sigh when he tasted my blood. His tongue brushed along my finger as he sucked. He did stop eventually, but I was starting to feel light headed before he did. I gave him what I hoped was a tempting smile and left that hand on his shoulder.

"How was it?" He grinned.

"Delectable." I smiled back at him and giggled lightly. He laughed under his breath and was giving me an odd smile I'd never seen before. I loved the smile. It looked distant, but intense all at once. It made my heart race to see it.

Then suddenly, our lips met again. That kiss lasted forever, but nowhere near long enough. After that, he took me back inside upon my request. I wanted to write a letter to my parents. I couldn't tell them I was marrying a vampire, but I did at least want them to know that I was getting married and that I was happy. Titus held in his arms on the bed with my back against his chest as I wrote the letter.

I couldn't tell my mother exactly what was going on, but I could tell her bits and pieces and tell her part of truth. She and everyone else thought I was in Serbia, so that's the story I needed to stick with. I started the letter by telling my mother that I was very happy where I was and that I was being treated well. I told her that I am engaged to the son of the man who's house I'd been cleaning for the past few years. I didn't lie about his name. I told her that my fiancé's name was Titus Valerius. I knew that wasn't a Serbian name, so I told her that it was an Italian family, which wasn't far from the truth. He was Roman. Roman was Italian. He chuckled when I wrote that his family was Italian. I looked over my shoulder at him with a questioning smile.

"What?" He shook his head.

"Nothing, my love. It's just that Valerius technically isn't my last name." I turned a little more.

"What is your last name, then?" He smiled and chuckled.

"When I was growing up, you didn't really have a last name. You belonged to a certain family. For example, Julius Caesar belonged to a family called the Julii. All his family members were known for that name. His nephew, Octavian, who later became the Caesar Augustus, would be called Octavian of the Julii."

"Is it safe assume you weren't a part of the Julii?" He chuckled and nodded.

"That would be a very safe assumption. If I were a part of the Julii, I'd know a thing or two about myself and my life."

"Do you know what family you belong to?" He nodded to my surprise.

"Yes, actually. That little tidbit of information I was able to find out about myself. I was part of the Lucii. And, stemming off of something I told you a while back, if I were to have children, one of my younger sons would be named Lucius because of my family name. Or a daughter named Lucia. In Roman society, you always had a name for your children." I smiled.

"That's always a bonus." Talking about this made it suddenly dawn on me the kind of discussion we were having. We were talking about having kids. Not directly, but we were eluding to the topic. I started looking at my letter feeling guilty. He immediately noticed and brought his face closer to mine.

"What is it, Nicoleta?" I was silent a moment before answering.

"I can't have children." He didn't react to what I said, but I continued. "When I was really little, around five or six, there was a virus going around the village. No one knew what it was and doctors weren't sure what it was either. Not many people caught it, but the ones that did were all older than me and most married. The virus wasn't deadly, but it was damaging. The doctor in our village noticed that when women recovered from the virus, they could live out their lives normally, but they could never seem to get pregnant. Girls who hadn't been married were married shortly after they recovered. Five years of persistency would go by and none of them ever got pregnant. The doctor still doesn't know what the virus was, but it was plainly obvious that the virus caused infertility."

"How were your parents able to find you a suitor if that was the case?"

"Because Boroi didn't know. My parents never told him. They were hoping that maybe I'd end up with at least one miracle baby, but I doubt it. If all else failed, we could always pretend it was possibly his fault." He chuckled. I looked at him surprised.

"That wouldn't have gone well my love. Men don't respond well to being told their sperm is inadequate." I sighed and shrugged.

"It doesn't matter anyway. Boroi married another girl."

"Around your age I'd assume." I shrugged again.

"Probably."

"I remember you once telling me he had a son that was older than you." I nodded, not sure where he was going. "Was he already married?" I nodded.

"Yes, he was. His wife was two years younger than me." He chuckled.

"Romanian wealth love their youths don't they?" I smiled and laughed with him.

"I suppose they do. But you're not one to talk. How much older than me are you?" He smiled at me.

"Only a few centuries, my dear. Nothing to be concerned about." I giggled and looked back at my letter.

"You're right. But for the sake of my mother, why don't I tell her you're thirty two." He rested his head on my shoulder.

"Thirty two is a good age."

I smiled and he kissed my cheek once before I continued writing my letter. I wrote that Titus was thirty two and was widowed from a previous marriage. I looked over at him asking if that was alright to write and he only smiled, letting me know he didn't mind. I wrote that he had no children and that he was the only man of his siblings, meaning he would inherit all his father's riches. I heard Titus smile a little when I wrote that part. After I wrote a few more things about the estate and was sure to announce the glass and jade gazebo my fiancé made for me, I looked at Titus again.

"When should I tell her the wedding's going to be?" He smiled.

"Tell her it will be in the summer of this year." I smiled.

"So soon?" He nodded with a big grin.

"Indeed. We marry as soon as I can arrange it." He lost a bit of his grin. "Unless, of course, you would rather wait." I shook my head.

"No. As soon as possible." He regained the rest of his grin. I turned back to the letter I was writing. "So we're getting married this summer." He smiled and nodded. Then he rested his head back on my shoulder and let me finish my letter.

I spent the rest of the letter telling mother about him. I told her what he was like. He was charming, very handsome, inventive, creative, a master builder, a composer, pretty much a Renaissance man. I was sure to add that his family was very wealthy. Titus chuckled when I wrote that, but didn't say anything against it. I thought about what I should make his family's wealth based on. I thought about my glass and jade gazebo and all the beautiful jewelry Titus had ever made for me and came to the conclusion of making his family the owners of jewelry stores all around Serbia and Romania and that they did a lot of business with Africa and their diamond mines and Asia and their Jade. Titus smiled.

"Don't forget to mention all the business we do with the North and South Americas and their gold." I smiled and added that to the letter. When I was done writing the letter, I folded all the pages into an envelope and handed it to Titus. "They'll have this by the morning, my love. For now, go to sleep. You look tired." I smiled and turned a little in his arms so I was lying on his chest on my side.

"Alright. I'll go to sleep. But may I get out of this dress first?" He chuckled and nodded.

"Of course, Nicoleta." He brought me with him out of my bed and rested me on my feet and ran to get my robe and handed it to me all within a second. "I'll leave you to that." I grabbed his shirt before he finished his sentence. I knew that if I waited until he finished, he would be gone before I could say a word. He stayed still like I was asking and waited for me to say what I wanted to say.

"I don't mind if you're here." He smiled and closed the small distance between us and kissed the top of my head.

"Are you sure?" I nodded.

"It would be nice if you helped me untie my corset too." He grinned with surprise at me.

"If you like." I smiled shyly and nodded. Normally, I was far too shy to let him do this for me. But I thought it would be best for me to get over that shyness early. I wasn't sure when the wedding was going to be, but being this summer, it was going to be soon.

I turned around and breathed when his hands started by pulling off my dress gently. When that was off, he put that on its hanger and came back to me, all not even in a second. His hands worked fast and untied my corset in seconds without ripping or rendering any of the fabric or ties. I was trying to keep my breath steady, but I knew I wasn't doing very well. When the corset was untied, he took hold of my shoulders and I shivered a little. He brought his lips closer to my ear as he spoke.

"Are you alright, my love? You're heart rate went up." I shook my head.

"I'm fine." I heard him chuckle under his breath and he brought his face away from me.

"I'll let you do the rest." He handed me my robe and I took it without looking at him. I was blushing a deep red. I knew it without looking at myself in a mirror. I'm sure he knew too. But I didn't want him to actually see it. I looked around to say something to him, but he wasn't standing behind me. I looked around the room, but I didn't see him. I assumed he'd left the room to give me some privacy.

I tried to not let it bother me and took everything off. I shoved it in the armoire and wrapped myself in my robe when it was in. As soon as the tie of my robe was knotted, I suddenly felt hands on my shoulders again. I turned around surprised and sighed when I saw Titus' face. It was the face that I'd run through hell for. I smiled again and he was already smiling at me with his charming smile. I went into his arms for a hug, which he happily gave me. He rested his head atop mine and kissed my head.

"I love your blush. It's cute." I buried my face into his chest and shook my head.

"I wish I wasn't so shy around you." He chuckled and kissed the top of my head again.

"It'll pass. You've come a long way since we first met. Besides, I like the idea of a blushing bride." He chuckled one last time and gave me a sweet kiss. I started blushing again, and his charming smile came back to melt me.

"If that's what you want." He chuckled and brought one of his hands to my face. A thought came into my mind then. My shyness seemed to only be worse when it came to my mind.

I've heard women talking about something that all men want. I never heard details and whenever I tried to ask mother, she always told me it was something my future husband would explain to me. I even asked one of my mother's friends who I'd heard eluding to the subject. She only laughed at me and said a woman never kisses and tells. Obviously that wasn't the case considering I heard her and a lot of the other married women in the village talking and laughing about it together. She did tell me that it was simply an end of the day womanly duty to your husband. And being so close to being a married woman made me nervous about what it could possibly be. I felt myself blushing again and I looked down at Titus' chest. I wasn't staring there for very long. Titus brought his hand to my chin and made me look at him. He had a concerned smile. I tried smiling back, but I knew it looked awkward and I knew I was blushing.

"What's the matter, Nicoleta?" I looked at him in silence a moment.

"I don't want to say." He brought his face closer to mine and stopped when our noses touched. The feeling made me feel oddly reassured.

"You can tell me, Nicoleta. Confide in me." His eyes looked loving and sincere. I felt my heart start to race and I couldn't take my eyes off him. His smile made me want to tell him what I was thinking and his cold hands made me realize that he would make everything better. I took a deep breath, exhaled, then told him what was on my mind.

"It about something." He chuckled.

"Alright. And that something is?" I smiled shyly again and tried to breath. He kept giving me his charming, reassuring smile.

"There's something that's bothering me. Something I don't know what it is, never explained to me." He chuckled again and rested his forehead on mine. The cold of it made me feel much better.

"I'd be happy to explain whatever it is you want to know." My smile calmed and I tried to keep my thoughts together.

"Well, I was told there's something that I'm supposed to do for you as a wifely duty to you. But when I asked what that was, they always said it was something you would explain to me on our wedding night." His face became instantly aware of what I was talking about, even though I wasn't sure what we were talking about. I was simply glad he did. His face was suddenly serious and he looked like he didn't want to talk anymore. I brought my hands to his face and tried to get him to look at me again. "Titus?" He finally looked at me, but it was with a blank stare. I felt my heart suddenly drop. I suddenly regretted ever bringing it up, whatever it was. He finally spoke again after a moment of silence.

"I see." It was all he said at first. I gave him more time to say something, anything else. "You see, Nicoleta, I'm not sure about that. When a man is with a woman like that, he tends to lose his mind. I don't want to risk you for the sake of my own passion." I gave him a confused look.

"Explain it to me, and I'll be the judge of that." He kept giving me a blank stare. He looked like my school teacher whenever someone asked him a stupid question. Suddenly, his hands were at my face as well and he made sure we were face to face. I looked at him with hopeful eyes.

"For starters, it's not something that should be a wifely duty. It's something that a man and a woman should enjoy together because they're in the arms of someone they love. Of course, when you're not, it feels like a chore. But when you're with someone you love, it's extremely satisfying."

"How so?" He looked at me a moment in silence before he spoke again. When he spoke, his eyes looked passionate and deep in thought. It made me feel warm.

"It's not really something that can be explained, Nicoleta. It can only be experienced."

"I thought you didn't remember being married." My comment had been completely innocent. I hadn't meant for it to sound rude or inappropriate. But his face became blank again, and I felt like I'd said something I shouldn't have. "What's wrong?" He shook his head gently.

"Nothing, my love." I shook my head too.

"Tell me." His face showed no emotion at all as he looked at me. This face concerned me. It was usually the face he made when he'd done something wrong, knew it, but didn't care about it. It concerned me. He suddenly let go of me and started walking slowly away from me. I stayed where I was. "Why won't you tell me?" He turned around when I said that. His face stayed the same look of indifference that scared me. It was the look I always thought I would never have to see again. The look in his eyes right now was the same look he had when we first met, when he'd killed Marishka.

"I'm a vampire, Nicoleta. A monster. You know that." I started shaking my head gently. I didn't like where this was going.

"What does that have to do with anything?" He was silent again for a moment before he continued.

"Do you know what an incubus is, Nicoleta?" My eyes widened.

"You…." He nodded his head. Once again, remaining completely indifferent. It was becoming infuriating.

"It's a vampire that forcefully takes sexual pleasure out of his victims before killing them. From time to time, simply because I was sick of routine, I would indulge. It wasn't often, granted, but it happened from time to time." I suddenly felt betrayed.

"Is this something you've done recently?" He shook his head, but this time, without a shred of indifference. His face suddenly became that of a man that was scared, but hiding it very well.

"No. Not since I found you. Not at all since I met you. The last time something like that happened was a good twenty years ago."

"Still." He came back to stand in front of me before I was even finished with the word. He didn't touch me though. "You're not even sorry for it." He gave me a blank stare again, then shook his head.

"No, I'm not. I wish I could tell you otherwise, but I'm not." I shook my head again, like I was refusing to admit it was the truth.

"So it's true. The rumors about the brides of Dracula, all those stories about his emptiness and all the emotions he doesn't have. It's all true." He shook his head again.

"I love you Nicoleta. That's an emotion. That's a feeling. Dracula doesn't exist. I do. And I love you more than anything. You're the only thing that means anything to me. You're all I care about and all I love. All I'll ever love."

"But everything and everyone else is disposable and worthless as far as you're concerned."

It wasn't a question. I didn't need him to confirm it. I knew him well enough to know that. But even though I knew it, seeing it was something else entirely. It never ceased to scare me. No matter how kind and loving he was to me, to everyone else, he was the heartless monster I grew up believing he was. And yet, knowing all that didn't make me love him any less. I felt like a horrible person for trying to rationalize every horrible thing he'd ever done in his life and knowingly still planned to do in the future. He didn't say anything more. He wasn't looking at me. He was looking off somewhere else. I was staring at his shoes, almost willing for everything we said to be taken back. Suddenly, the feet I was staring at were gone. I looked up and he was done from my room again. I looked all over for him, but he wasn't there. I suddenly felt all alone. A heaviness in my chest made me feel sick.

I had a hard time falling asleep that night. I was standing on the balcony looking out into the woods and at the village for most of the night. I never even went to bed. Somehow, I fell asleep while standing up and was awoken by a gentle nudge on my leg. I looked at what had nudged me. It was Aquilius. I looked at the railing and suddenly noticed the three bats at my balcony. Their fur was shining in the same odd way I remembered from before, as with Aquilius. I looked at him, not really making an effort to change my face.

"Did Titus leave a note?" Aquilius looked at me, then walked into the room and over to my bed. I followed after him and looked where he did. There was a small piece of paper on my bed with handwriting I would know anywhere. I picked it up and read it.

_My Darling,_

_As you can see, I've left for a bit. Aquilius and the others will keep an eye on you while I'm gone. I don't know when I'll be back, but I will be back. I've instructed the dogs and bats to remain at the castle and to only attack on comers. If you wish to leave, they won't stop you. If you're here when I get back, I promise to make everything right. But if you're not here, then I'll understand. But even if you chose to leave me, keep the ring and all my gifts to you. I gave them to you, so they're yours to take. Whichever you decide, I'll understand. Please remember, though, that no matter what I've done in the past or what will happen tomorrow, that I will always love you. I meant it when I said you're the only one that matters to me. I only hope that my love is enough. I want you to be happy, Nicoleta, and that will never change. If you're no longer happy, then become happy. You have my heart, Nicoleta. It was yours the moment I looked into your beautiful hazel eyes. And it will always be yours. I love you, Nicoleta. With all of my cold, dead heart. And I always will, no matter what you decide._

_I love you, truly and deeply,_

_Titus_

I was crying halfway through the letter. When I was done reading it, I fell on the bed without a care at all. I kept crying for an immeasurable amount of time. Aquilius stayed close to me and licked my face the whole time, attempting to make me feel better I imagine. But it wasn't helping. I couldn't seem to stop crying. I felt a pain in my chest like nothing I've ever felt before. It was much worse than the loneliness I'd felt last night when he was suddenly gone from my room. The letter only made it feel more binding.

I couldn't help but doubt his words. He was indifferent. Nothing mattered to him. Not the life of a friend or any other person in the world. Life meant nothing to him. How was I supposed to believe that he loved me when everything else meant nothing? How could I be sure that his love for me was sincere? The only evidence I had was that he let me live. He never hurt me and he went to great lengths to make sure I was safe and happy. That made me think about why I mattered so much. How could he not love me when he put forth all that effort? Everything he did and everything he'd ever done was nothing like the man he was around me. When he was with me, he had a glow in his eyes. He looked like he cared and that the world was his for the taking. Last night and every time he'd ever spoken about his past, his face would change to a bitter indifference that was like staring into a black hole. Could I really be with a man, marry a man that had such little care for the world and the people in it? I loved him, of that I was sure beyond a reasonable doubt. But he was still a vampire. Dracula. The creature that took innocent women in the night and killed them with ease. I'd seen him do it and I knew the ease that went into murder for him.

When I finally did stop crying, I still didn't get up from the bed. Getting up would only mean facing everything. At least like this, I could pretend everything was as it should be. When I did finally force myself off the bed, it was night. I hadn't realized I was sulking for that long. It had seemed so short. Aquilius was still right next to me and was at immediate attention again when I got up. I walked back to the balcony and stared out at the village. I was trying to think. I didn't want to leave. Going back home would only mean explaining myself and a possible lashing from father for being so foolish as to leave the family. That, and I knew in my heart that Titus wouldn't come after me. He'd promised that he wouldn't stop me if I were to leave. I would never see him again if I left and that gave me a greater pain in my chest than ever before. I was clutching onto my chest trying to force myself to breath when that thought came to my head.

Whether his feelings were honestly and deeply sincere or not didn't matter. They were that way for me. The very thought of losing Titus was painful. I couldn't imagine what the pain would be like to really never see him again. At least staying at the castle, I knew I would see him again. What hurt was that I didn't know when. It could be years for all I knew. He was immortal. What reason did he have to rush? I felt tears start to come again, so I tried to not think about that. I looked out into the woods, wishing I could see him. I wanted to hold him and be held and tell him that I didn't care. Nothing he ever did mattered. His love was enough for me. More than I deserved. I wanted to apologize for reacting the way I did the night before and tell him that I loved him and hear him say the same to me. I wanted to tell him these things more than I wanted anything else in the world.

So I waited. I waited for him to come home, standing at the balcony waiting for him. I never bothered to but put on any clothes. My robe was clothing enough for now. It was warm outside anyway, so it really didn't matter. Aquilius stood by me loyally the whole time I waited. I rarely left my spot. I only left when I desperately needed to. After two days of standing at the balcony waiting and somehow falling asleep while standing up, I went back in my room and waited on my bed. It was more comfortable anyway. And I was only torturing myself watching out into the woods. Aquilius, loyal as ever, followed me and laid down next to me as I waited. I would pet his head and scratch his belly, knowing I wouldn't find anything better to do.

After a week, I was beginning to think he wasn't coming back. This was a long time, especially for him. He was the man that could do things and come to a decision in seconds. He was probably trying to give me space. Letting me be alone to think. The truth was that being alone was only driving me mad. It was worse than my first year here. The silence was painful and his absence more so. What's worse was there was nothing there to keep me busy. I ended up rereading his letter over and over again, trying to remind myself that he'd promised to come back.

Another week went by and he hadn't come home. I hadn't eaten since he left. I was amazed I even bothered to drink. Aquilius never closed his eyes the whole time. He only watched me and looked after me. Whenever there was a suspicious noise, he was at immediate attention again until whatever caught his attention was gone. And every time he heard something, I would sit up in my bed hoping it was Titus. But it never was. It was usually just something that was going on outside. Possibly a rabbit or a deer passing by. The more time that went by without seeing him made me feel more and more empty inside. Eventually, I started feeling like a hollow shell, a lifeless form. That was the only way to describe me at that point.

Four days later, I started losing all hope that he would ever come back. I cried again that night, letting it all fall on me. I didn't care. I wanted to see him so badly and yet he was somewhere where I couldn't find him. I fell asleep crying that night, thinking of Titus and wanting so bad for him to finally come home. The next morning, I woke up to a wonderfully familiar cold hand. When I felt it, my eyes flew open and I looked at Titus with wonder. He looked at me with sad eyes while his hand remained on my face caressing my cheek calmly with his thumb. We were silent for a long time. I wanted to throw myself at him, but I was too much in shock to do so. He was the first one to talk. When he did talk, I could hear the awe in his voice as well as the rush of relief.

"You stayed." I finally smiled and nodded my head.

"Of course I stayed." My voice was low and soft. I could hardly hear what I'd said. But I knew he could, and that was enough.

"I thought after our last meeting, you wouldn't want to see me again."

"What would make you think that?" His face stayed that of a mask of pain, but somehow relief.

"I don't want you to be scared of me, Nicoleta. Everyone else is afraid of me, everyone else sees me as a monster. I don't want you to feel that way. I want you to know me as the man that loves you, not the vampire." I shook my head, still staying where I was.

"I love you, Titus. I love all of you. I don't care what you are or what you've done or who you've killed. I love you." He smiled weakly at me.

"I want so much for you to trust that I love you. I couldn't help but noticed you seemed doubtful of that." I felt a tear escape my eye and his thumb brushed it away. I looked down in shame.

"You're so cruel. You don't care who you kill or who's family you destroy as long as you get or accomplish what you want in the long run."

"Not so with you." I looked up at him again with the same sad eyes. His remained sad too. "As I said, you mean more to me than anything. I wouldn't trade you for anything. I don't care about anyone else. I don't care about anything but you. And I never will care about anymore than you."

"I know that. I never should have doubted that." He shook his head.

"It's my own fault. I've been pushing you aware with my cruelty. I want so much to change for you." I shook my head and was suddenly able to close the distance between us and embrace him like I'd so desperately wanted.

"No. No, don't change. Don't change a thing. I love you, all of you, as you are. Vampire, human, ogre, sea monster, it doesn't matter. I love you and I always will. Please don't change who you are."

He didn't say anything in response. He only wrapped his arms around me lovingly and rested his head on mine. I held onto him tighter and he did the same, but not enough to hurt me. Every ounce of pain was gone as I rested on his chest, feeling the cold. I never before thought that a cold embrace would be so inviting. One of his hands traveled up into my hair and started brushing through it with the same tender love. When he finally did speak, the hand that was in my hair moved to my face and lifted my chin so I was facing him. His eyes took my breath away in an instant. His eyes were scarlet red, but they were looking at me like I was the only woman in the world worth loving at all. I wasn't sure what I looked like right now, but I didn't care. I was only looking at his eyes.

"I love you. You're my reason, my purpose." He brought his face even closer to mine. "I'll never give you a reason to doubt my love again. I swear I won't." I shook my head.

"You've already proved it time and time again. I'm the fool that doubted you." He shook his head in return.

"I gave you reason to doubt my sincerity and that's my fault." I was about to talk, but he stopped me with a quick kiss. I listened after he took them away. "If you'll still have me, Nicoleta, than it would be an honor to prove my love to you by making you my wife." I smiled widely at him and nodded my head without a second thought.

"Nothing would make me happier than to be your wife, Titus." He smiled and rubbed his nose against mine.

"You know what's odd?" I shook my head. "I think my heart just beat." My eyes widened.

"What?" He smiled.

"I was nothing but a corpse for so long. You gave me back whatever humanity I still had left." He was silent for a moment before he spoke again. "Do you remember me telling you, 'There's no such thing as a creature without emotions'?" I nodded.

"Yes." He chuckled under his breath and smiled.

"Until I met you, I never believed that. I thought I was a lifeless corpse in every essence of the word. I didn't feel anything. No pain, no remorse, not even joy. But when I met you, I suddenly felt warm for the first time in over 1900 years. You made me feel what I don't think I even felt when I was human." I felt tears coming again, but he brushed them away with a loving smile on his face.

"It's like you said. Sometimes, they just don't know they have emotions." He smiled wider and nodded.

"Yes, Nicoleta. That's exactly it." I smiled and buried my face into his chest. One of his hands went into my hair and stroked it lovingly. I knew that no one in the whole world would ever be able to make me feel the way Titus did. Not in a million years. It was stupid of me to ever doubt him and I never planned to doubt him again. There was no reason to doubt him. After a moment of being buried in his arms, I brought my face from his chest and looked up at him. He was smiling at me and I smiled back.

"What kept you away for so long?" He kept smiling, but his face became secretive again.

"I was hoping, by some miracle, that you would still want to marry me. So I found a church for us to have our ceremony." My eyes widened a little.

"A church? Where?" He shook his head.

"It's a surprise my love. But you'll love it. I promise." I began to smile wider and his smile became proud.

"You're giving me a catholic wedding?" He nodded his head with the same big grin on his face.

"You deserve one. And I know how much it would mean to you to have a catholic wedding." When he finished talking, I brought my face up to his and gave him a kiss. I went a little too fast and it hurt when my lips touched his stone cold ones, but I didn't care. He kissed me back and began to kiss my chin and jaw.

"Can I make one more request?" He took his face away from my jaw to look at me again.

"Anything you want, Nicoleta." I smiled sweetly and brought my hands to his face.

"Do the townspeople know what you look like?" He kept a straight face and shook his head.

"No one's ever seen me. They think I'm Dracula, so naturally, they think I'm a pale man with dark black hair and a much uglier face." I giggled.

"Then would it be alright if we sent my mother and father a picture? I don't know if they'll even want it or not, but I would like to send one. I want her to know what you look like and how happy I am." He smiled at me and kissed my forehead.

"Of course, my love, of course. I will arrange for someone to take a picture on the day of the wedding after the ceremony." I felt silly, but I thought I might as well ask.

"You will show up in the picture, right?" He was laughing before I even finished talking. It was his joyful laugh that I rarely ever got to hear. "What? I thought it was a perfectly reasonable question." He kept laughing.

"I'm sorry, my love. I thought it was clear that I would. If I couldn't show up in pictures then I wouldn't have just told you I'd arrange for someone to take a picture." He kept laughing and fell over on his side with his hands still on my arms. I swatted at him knowing it wouldn't do me any good at all. If anything, it hurt me.

"Stop laughing. I already feel silly for asking." He took a deep breath and brought himself back up.

"I'm sorry, my love." He gave me a sweet kiss. "It was a cute question is all."

"It was a stupid question. You can say it." He shrugged.

"Alright, it was a stupid question. But it made me laugh, so that's all that matters." I sighed and he kept smiling at me. "You're the only one to ever make me laugh like that, you know."

"Am I really?" He nodded.

"Yeah. You're one of the few people to make me laugh period."

"Who else has ever made you laugh?" His face became thoughtful only for a second before he responded.

"One time, when I was in France, there was a couple having dinner. I overheard them talking and they were arguing. The man had evidently had an affair and he was trying to justify his actions by saying he's the provider and such. His poor excuses just made me laugh. I was careful not to laugh aloud, though. I didn't want to start anything."

"Why? You don't have anything to be scared of."

"True, but if something were to happen, my only real defense would be to fight back. And not many people would react well to seeing a man's head crushed with a single slap to the face." I shrugged.

"I suppose that's true." He smiled and pulled me to him to give me a kiss. I brought my hands to his face and held him while his hands moved to hold me at my waist. When our lips parted, he looked at me with the same smile, but now it looked planning.

"We leave tomorrow morning. I'll take you to a nice wedding salon where you can get a worthy dress. While you're looking for that, I'll get my suit. I'll be ready for you when you're done. Once we have that done, we'll leave to get to our destination."

"Where are we going?" He smirked.

"It's a surprise, my love. It will take us two days to get there, though. Don't worry, I found a few horses and changed them. That'll get us where we need to go much faster."

"But their fur shines."

"They're black horses. It doesn't show as much when they have black fur. It's only easier to notice on Aquilius because his fur texture is different."

"If you say so." He smiled and kissed me again.

"Get some sleep, my love. We'll have a long day of traveling tomorrow." I smiled and nodded. Then I rested my head on his cold chest and breathed in his sweet scent.

"Alright. Good night."

"Goodnight, Nicoleta. I love you."

"I love you too, Titus." I fell asleep in Titus' arms, loving the smell of his skin. When I woke up, I was still in his arms, but I felt movement. It felt like a carriage but going much faster. I opened my eyes and was looking at a covered window. I looked up at Titus and he looked at me.

"Finally awake, Nicoleta." I smiled.

"How long have we been in the carriage?"

"About four hours. We'll be in Budapest in about twenty more minutes."

"Budapest in Austria-Hungary?" He nodded.

"They speak Romanian in this country. I know a bridal shop that's in Budapest. They'll have exactly what you're looking for." I sighed when I started thinking about finding a dress. I was always told that if I were lucky enough to go shopping for a new dress, I would know the perfect one when I saw it. I had no intention of picking a huge dress. There had been girls I'd known that had been able to get their own dresses and to me they always looked too stuffy or made them look twice their size and I didn't like it.

"I don't want anything overly poufy." He chuckled at my words.

"I figured you wouldn't. That's why I picked this place. They're dresses are said to be a little more modern. At least that's what some old woman who lives in the alley next to it told me."

"Is she still alive?" He smiled and nodded.

"Yes, Nicoleta, as far as I know. If she's dead, I wasn't the one that killed her." I smiled.

"If you say so, honey." He huffed a single laugh at what I said.

"I've never been given a pet name before. I don't think I even had a pet name from my first wife." I shrugged.

"There's a first time for everything I suppose." I lifted myself up from his chest and sat up straight so I could rest my shoulders against his. When I was upright, I reached to the window and lifted the cloth covering the window. When I did, the scenery seemed to be only a blur as we moved. I dropped it and Titus chuckled under his breath.

"Don't worry, my love. They have perfect eyesight. They know what they're doing."

"Is this how fast a vampire can go?" He shook his head.

"They can go much faster. I didn't want them going too fast seeing as you were asleep. Now that you're awake, I can let them go full speed. In that case, we'd reach Budapest in less than ten minutes." I smiled.

"As long as I'm not watching everything go by. It's frightening enough when we're only going a few feet." He chuckled.

"Alright, Nicoleta." Suddenly, he was gone. I grabbed onto the seat to keep from falling. I suddenly noticed the carriage wasn't wood. It was cold and rough. Possibly iron. It was too dark to be iron, though. There weren't any lights in the carriage either. No candle sticks or any lighting of any kind. I felt a jolt as the carriage went ever faster and then Titus was holding me again. "Now we're going at top speed." I smiled nervously and decided to change the subject.

"Do those horses have names?" He smiled and nodded.

"Carlo, Antonia, Alexandria, and Critia."

"They're all female?"

"Not Carlo."

"Well, no, not Carlo. Where did you get them?"

"A track I found in Italy."

"When were you in Italy?"

"The two and a half weeks I was away."

"Oh."

"Once again, at top speed, I can explore the world. I could go around the world in forty days on foot if I wanted to." I giggled at his joke.

"I didn't know they had tracks in Italy."

"Of course they do. Italians are notorious gamblers." I smacked his chest and he only grinned.

"That's a horrible thing to say."

"My darling, I am Italian. I think I would know."

"Does that mean you like to gamble?"

"Oh, I love to gamble. It's all the more fun cause I'm always right." He chuckled. "Vladimir and Stefan like to think that's my gift. Whenever I say something, it will end up being that way. Personally, there's an Irish vampire I know that I think is the one that has that power."

"What's his name?"

"Her name is Siobhan. Very nice vampire. She's very logical and straight forward. I appreciate that."

"How long have you known her?"

"I met her about five hundred years ago give or take. She was a newborn at the time, but she was quite rational for a newborn. She had her moments, but we all did. I haven't seen her in years, though. I honestly wish we were better friends."

"It's never too late." He shrugged.

"Maybe one of these days." He kissed my forehead and looked ahead again.

"While I'm thinking of it, what is this carriage made of?"

"Steel." My eyes widened.

"Really?" He nodded.

"It's a very durable material and much harder to damage. At least it is for nature. And the horses are strong enough to pull an infinite amount of these carriages and remain at the same speed."

"That's strong." He nodded.

"Indeed it is. I won't like, vampirism has its perks, strength and speed being two." He started stroking my hair after he finished talking. It made my eyes feel heavy, so I closed them but never fell asleep.

"Titus?"

"Yes, my love?"

"How will we know we're in Budapest?" Just as I said that, the carriage seemed to come to a complete stop. Titus held onto me so I didn't fly across the carriage and hurt myself. It took a minute to realize we were still moving, but it was much slower.

"I should have warned you about that. I'm sorry, love. They knew the way. I instructed them to go at a normal pace once we were outside the city." I giggled nervously.

"It's alright. Now I know what's happening if we come to a complete stop again." He smiled and nodded.

"Sorry, my love." I shook my head.

"It's alright. I'm more prepared for next time." He smiled and placed me back on the seat. He put me to his left this time.

"We're almost at the bridal shop. I'll let you know when we're there." I smiled and simply rested my head on his chest. He lifted me up when the carriage came to a complete stop. "This is the place." Then he reached over and opened the cloth covering for the window.

"It looks expensive." When he responded, his voice was extremely calm and unfazed.

"It is. They have a very wide selection of dresses." Then there was a huge wad of something in my hand. I realized it was money. "Buy whatever dress you want. Nothing in there is out of reach. I won't take long to get a suit, so I'll be out here waiting for you when you're done." When that was said he opened the door to the carriage to let me out. The sun was facing the other way, so we were cast in the shadow.

I looked over at Titus. He smiled at me lovingly and kissed me once. I brought my hand to his face in an attempt to lengthen the kiss, but he took his lips away with a smile and motioned with his head that it was okay to go. I smiled nervously and walked out of the carriage. He held my hand while I stepped out and kissed it when my feet were back on the ground. He smiled at me reassuringly one last time and then closed the door. I saw a sudden bright light, but when I looked, it was gone and the horses had already started walking away. I smiled and looked after the carriage as it went away until I couldn't see it anymore. When it was gone, I walked into the bridal shop and was greeted by two women. They were happy to see me, but they were talking really fast and talking in Hungarian, so I couldn't follow. They pulled me with them to the middle of the large store babbling away until they had me where they wanted me and, I assumed, asked me what I wanted. They went silent, and I said one word, hoping it would make everything easier.

"Romanian?" They smiled and their faces became aware.

"Oh, dear, we're so sorry. Why didn't you say so before?" Her accent was heavy Hungarian, but it wasn't hard to follow. I shrugged.

"I was taken by surprise is all." They both smiled. The older one spoke next.

"Well, dear, I'm Olga, and this is my assistant, Elizbeta. Is there any dress specifically that you're looking for, or are you not sure?"

"I'm sure really. I don't want anything to big or poufy, and I'd rather it didn't cover my neck and arms." They both nodded.

"We have plenty of dresses we think you'll like. Do you mind a ball gown silhouette, or would you rather have A-line or mermaid silhouette?" I looked at her blankly, not quite sure what she was talking about. I knew what an A-line and Ball Gown was, but I didn't know what a Mermaid silhouette was. Elizbeta elaborated.

"The ball gown is what you're wearing now. A-line is more subtle but still flows from the hips, and mermaid is when it stays close to the body and flows out below the hips. It's quite a beautiful silhouette." I smiled and decided to keep it with something I knew.

"Ball gown sounds nice." Olga suddenly looked like she had a thought.

"We also have a new silhouette. It's called empire if you're interested." I shook my head.

"I think I should stick with what I know." They smiled and nodded their heads in agreement and escorted me to their large selection of ball gown dresses.

They completely disregarded any of the dresses that covered too much and were too poufy, just as I'd requested. There were several beautiful dresses to chose from and I tried on a lot of them, but nothing seemed quite right. They were sure to ask me what the budget on the dress was and I simply said there was no budget and they both seemed to smile the sun. They dimmed a little when I told them I needed the dress today. I knew the wedding was tomorrow. I had no idea where it was or even what city or country, but it was tomorrow night and I needed the dress done. Luckily, I was the right dress size to be able to buy the rack dress. I asked them to make any needed repairs while I was wearing the dress I picked and they were more than happy to do so.

But I was still having a hard time finding a dress that was right. To my amazement, they never lost their patience with me. I was surprised how long it was taking me to find a dress that I liked. I caught myself looking out the windows hoping Titus would come in and help me pick something. An hour after I'd arrived, he was back, his black, steel carriage waiting outside for me. The black horses shined, but it looked natural. Anyone would guess they were simply well groomed and had shiny coats.

"Is that your carriage, dear?" I looked at Olga when she asked and answered her with a smile and a nod.

"My god, it's beautiful. Is that metal?" Elizbeta's voice held aw.

"Yes. Steel. Titus says it's more durable and lasts longer than wood." Elizbeta gave me what I could swear was a wicked smile.

"Is Titus your fiancé?" I nodded.

"Yes, he is." Olga spoke next.

"That's a unique name. Is it biblical?" I shook my head.

"No, it's not. He's not Romanian. He's Roman." Both of their faces seemed to light up. Especially Elizbeta.

"Oh, I love Italians. They're all so handsome. And if he can afford all this, he must be rich." I smiled and made my own assumption and added with the story I gave mother.

"Yes. His family works in jewelry and such. They have stores all over Romania and Serbia." They both smiled and nodded approvingly.

"That sounds wonderful." Olga said.

"How old is he?" Elizbeta asked. Olga swatted her shoulder.

"That's hardly your business, Lizzy." I shook my head.

"No it's alright." Olga rolled her eyes at Elizbeta as she looked at me for an answer. Once again, I gave her the same answer I gave my mother in my letter. "He's thirty two." They looked at each other and smiled approvingly. Elizbeta looked at me with a shining smile.

"My, my, thirty two. So young." I nodded and smiled. "Is his father still alive or has his inheritance come yet?" I sighed. At this point, I was completely making stuff up.

"His father past away years ago." They smiled wider.

"Well that's so sad." Then they handed me a dress and put it on me to try. There wasn't a mirror in the changing room, but it looked beautiful on the hanger. When it was tied up, they led me back to the platform in front of the mirror. When I looked in the mirror, I was left speechless. "So, how does this one look?"

It took a moment for me to answer. It was ball gown silhouette like I asked, and its only sleeves were lace coming off the shoulder. It came with lace gloves that covered up to my wrist. The corset of the dress was tight fitting and simple. But at my right hip was a diamond rose that could fit in my palm. From that point, the dress opened to reveal a gorgeous display of lace and tool. My two necklaces only seemed to compliment the dress, and I felt myself tear up while I was looking at it. They both saw my reaction and smiled at each other.

"I think it's the one." I smiled and nodded, trying to avoid crying.

"I do too."

I spent several minutes looking at myself in the dress. I tried pulling my hair up to picture what it would look like with my hair done up. When they finally did get me out of the dress, they offered hair pieces, but I had a feeling that Titus had already made some for me, so I paid for the dress and just the dress. They put the dress in a grey cover so Titus wouldn't be able to see the dress when I brought it out. Elizbeta and Olga came out with me saying they would help me get the dress into the carriage, but I think they just wanted to see Titus. I didn't see the harm, so I let them come with me. The sun showed late afternoon, so I didn't expect that Titus would come out anyway. When I was right in front of the carriage, the door opened and Titus, wearing black gloves, reached out to help me in.

"I see you found a dress." I nodded.

"Yes, I did. It's beautiful." He grinned.

"Of course it is, my love. Anything you wear is beautiful." I smiled shyly and heard the two women behind me giggle to themselves. Titus looked at them and smiled. "Thank you for your help, ladies."

"You're welcome, sir." They giggled again and were running back into the store and started talking in Hungarian again. When I was in the carriage, he closed the door, was suddenly gone, then suddenly back again and the carriage was moving.

"Did you find a nice suit?" He chuckled and nodded.

"Yes, I did. I can't wait to see your dress." I smiled.

"Me either. I didn't buy any hair pieces. I assumed you already made some."

"Yes, actually, I did." He reached across to a box that I hadn't realized was there and opened it. Inside was an elaborate diamond barrette that was shaped like a rose. Even the leaves were made entirely of diamonds. "The comb is 14 karat white gold. Everything else is made up of half karat diamonds."

"It's beautiful. If I didn't know better, I'd say you already knew what I was going to get." He chuckled and kissed me.

"As long as it's right. I'm glad I'm a good guesser." I smiled wider at him.

"It is. I can't wait to see what you do to my hair." He looked surprised.

"You want me to do your hair?"

"Well, yes. You always do my hair."

"True, my love. But that's an everyday thing. This is our wedding. I want to be completely surprised when I see you walk down the aisle to me."

"Who will be doing my hair then?"

"I've arranged for you to have maids. They won't participate in the ceremony. They'll only get you ready. And I'll have a carriage waiting to take you to the church when you're ready."

"What time is the wedding?"

"Eleven sharp tomorrow night." He kissed my cheek and the carriage suddenly started going at full speed. "So get some sleep, my love. We have a big day tomorrow." I smiled at him and rested my head on his chest.

"Alright, Titus." He kissed the top of my head and didn't say another word as I fell asleep.

When I woke up, I wasn't in the carriage anymore. I was in a large, beautiful room that was every shade of white and cream and gold. My dress, still in its grey cover, was hung next to a large full size mirror. The lights were off, but the curtains were open. I got up from the bed and looked out the window. I already figured I wouldn't recognize the city, but it looked familiar for some reason. The way all the buildings were made had a familiar look. After looking out the window, I started looking around the room hoping to maybe find a note from Titus. After looking around, I found an envelope with my name on it in the beautiful handwriting that could only belong to Titus. I opened the envelope and took out a little note from him and had to smile as I read it.

_Nicoleta,_

_Our wedding will be at eleven tonight. Around seven, seven women will come to your room and help you get ready for the wedding. Forgive me, my love, I was unable to acquire maids that spoke Romanian. But worry not, they are nice and will not do anything without being sure it's what you want. Hand gestures will work fine, I assure you. But until then, the bathroom in your suit has running water for you to use and take a bath if you choose. There are scented soaps of all kinds for you to choose from if you're tired of vanilla and lavender. At ten forty five tonight, a carriage will come to get you and take you to the church. I'll see you at the aisle and I look forward to finally seeing you. Until then, my darling._

_I love you,_

_Titus_

I smiled wider and kissed the note after I was done reading it. I placed it back on the dresser and walked to the bathroom to take a bath. The tub was enormous and looked like it could fit a family. I played with it until I got the water to be the right temperature and fill the tub. The water felt wonderful after spending more than a day asleep in a steel carriage. And I found a soap that smelled sweet and flowery. I didn't recognize what it was. I wasn't sure what the language was, so I didn't bother with it. I liked the smell, so I used it. I stayed in the tub and relaxed, loosing track of time. I didn't come out of the tub until I heard a knock at the door. I dried off as fast as I could and put on a robe in the bathroom and went to the door. I was hoping my hair was a little dry by now from when I washed it when I got in the tub. When I answered the door, seven women came into my room and surrounded me. They were talking in a fluid language that, once again, sounded familiar.

"Language?" I asked one of them. As I spoke, I gestured my hand to go along my throat and away from my mouth. She, thankfully, knew what I was talking about, and answered me quickly before talking to the others again.

"Français." My eyes widened a little when she said that. I thought I'd push while I was at it. I gestured towards the window as I spoke next.

"What city are we in?" I kept pointing out the window and the woman smiled and answered me when she knew what I was talking about.

"Paris." I smiled wider again when she said that. France. I was getting married to the man I loved more than anything in Paris, France. The notorious city of love. I dared to hope that our wedding would be held at Notre Dame. I'd always wanted to go to Notre Dame, and getting married there would be a dream come true.

They took time to dry my hair before putting anything on. While they were drying my hair, one woman did my makeup. She gave me a deep red lipstick, and to my request, didn't use any blush. She put some black liner and mascara around my eyes and put a light, light pink powder for my eye shadow. When I looked at my face, I blushed. I'd never worn makeup before and I knew makeup wasn't something one usually wore. Normally, one only wore makeup for special occasions or if they were a street walker. But the makeup was far from the look of a common whore. It made me feel feminine and beautiful to see my face like this.

When my hair was finally dry, they started putting on my knickers and my dress. They died the dress as tight as it would go with the corset I was wearing and fixed anything that the bridal shop might have missed. As they worked on my dress, three of the women stood on large stools to do my hair. They brushed it out until there wasn't a single knot and showed me everything they planned to do. Though I didn't speak French, I was able to get across what I did and didn't like and they were able to make a gorgeous up-do using the hair comb that Titus had made for my dress. They didn't pull the veil over my head. They only had the veil hang from my up-do where it was held together using my little barrette.

When they were completely done, I was forcing myself not to cry. I was getting married to the man I loved and I was doing it looking so beautiful. I'd never felt more like a princess in my whole life. One of the maids looked outside the window and started barking orders to the other maids in French and they started to lead me out of the room and down the stairs until they brought me in front of a large, mahogany carriage with two beige horses. There was a man sitting at the top ready to lead the horses to wherever it was I was supposed to go. The maids led me to the carriage and they, and the driver, helped me into the carriage. They were all talking in French, but I knew they were saying words of wisdom to me and telling me that they were happy for me and wishing me a long and happy marriage. Then one of the maids handed me something. It was my jade Bouquet that Titus had shown me the day he asked me to marry him. I should have realized it was supposed to be the bouquet I would have at my wedding.

The driver closed the door and the maids waved goodbye to me as we rode away. I waved back and didn't stop until they were out of sight. As we drove, I looked out the window and watched the city go by. It was so beautiful. The lights were stunning and the people passing by only made it all the more interesting. I saw the Eiffel Tower and several other sights of Paris as we drove through the city. When we finally got to where we were supposed to be, I forced myself not to cry. As I had dared to hope, we were standing in front of the Notre Dame Cathedral. There were two nuns waiting for me and the door. They smiled and gestured towards the door for me to follow them. I followed after them and they looked me over before I walked in. They adjusted both my necklaces and they both smiled wide when they saw my rosary that Titus had made for me. When they were done, I heard music start to play. It was Canon in D on a grand piano with a violin accompaniment. The nun led me to the closed door and gave me a gentle push when the other nun opened the door.

It was spectacular. The candles were all lit and made the already elaborate design of the cathedral become even more heavenly and breathtaking. The moon was shining through the windows of the church and the emptiness only seemed to add to its astonishing beauty. The stained glass windows showed themselves in the moonlight with pride and made everything seem unearthly. When I finally looked forward, there he was. Titus was standing at the alter in front of a priest waiting for me. The room was far too large and long for me to see his face, but I knew he could see mine. I smiled widely and fought back my tears of joy and started walking down the aisle to the music. I tried to go slow, but it was hard to. I felt like I needed to be near him and the pace I was going at wasn't nearly fast enough. The two nuns that had let me in followed me down the aisle. As I got closer to him, my heart started racing even faster than before. He could hear it of course, and I saw him smile wider at me. He remained composed and handsome as I came closer, but I saw the sheer joy in his eyes that I was proud to say that only I would ever see.

When I finally reached him, he took my hand and we walked together to the podium and kneeled before the priest. We both smiled and him and he smiled at us. When the priest started talking, I was surprised that the priest wasn't speaking French, but Latin. I looked at Titus and he only smiled at me. I smiled back and patiently listened to the priest as best I could. I could understand a handful of words that were similar to those of Romanian, so I was happy about that. I understood Latin a lot better than I would understand French. And I knew all my prayers in Latin, so I knew when I needed to say amen.

A choir of nuns sang for us at the appropriate parts of the ceremony and the priest would read the scriptures that Titus had picked. I wasn't sure what scriptures were being read at first, but Titus whispered the versus in my ear, and I knew I wouldn't have been able to pick better scriptures. As the ceremony went on, music would gently play and add to the effect of the ceremony. When we ate the body of Christ and the blood of Christ, Titus ate and drank them with a smile on his face. And I had to fight a small laugh when the priest sprinkled us with holy water and Titus squinted because the priest threw a little too much on him. The two candles had been lit by the nuns and we walked to them to light the unity candle as one of the last parts of the ceremony. I followed as best I could when we were saying our vows. I felt myself get teary eyed again as I spoke. I didn't understand the Latin very well, but I still knew exactly what we were saying. Titus was the first to start repeating after the priest.

"Ego, Titus Valerius Lucii…."

"Ego, Titus Valerius Lucii…" Titus' voice was somehow even more beautiful and masculine as he said the vows. He wiped away a stray tear as he spoke.

"Capio vos, Nicoleta Anna Nastase…"

"Capio vos, Nicoleta Anna Nastase…"

"Ut exsisto mues legitiums nuptialis uxor…"

"Ut exsisto mues legitiums nuptialis uxor…" After saying that, he wiped away another tear from my cheek.

"Delecto quod teneo pro totus dies de meus vita…"

"Delecto quod teneo pro totus dies de meus vita…"

"Insquequo nex operor nos secui."

"Insquequo nex operor nos secui." Then the priest looked at me and asked me to repeat the same words.

"Ego, Nicoleta Anna Nastase…" I took a deep breath before repeating after him. Titus smiled and waited.

"Ego, Nicoleta Anna Nastase…"

"Capio vos, Titus Valerius Lucii…"

"Capio vos, Titus Valerius Lucii…"

"Ut exsisto meus legitiums nuptialis maritus…"

"Ut exsisto meus legitiums nuptialis maritus…"

"Delecto quod teneo pro totus dies de meus vita…"

"Delecto quod teneo pro totus dies de meus vita…"

"Insquequo nex operor nos secui."

"Insquequo nex operor nos secui."

The priest then gestured for us to stand up and face each other. We walked over to the candles and took the two smaller candles to light the larger unity candle. When that was done, we walked back to the alter and continued to look into each other's eyes as the priest spoke. Then it came to the part where we put on the rings. The priest told Titus what he needed to say and Titus smiled at me before hand.

"Ego tribuo vos is orbis in nomen de abbas , filius , quod de sanctus phasmatis." Then he put the white gold ring on my finger after the large engagement ring I still had on my finger. Then it was my turn. I was handed his ring and repeated the same words.

"Ego tribuo vos is orbis in nomen de abbas , filius , quod de sanctus phasmatis." Then the priest said a few more things to us as he wrapped a small cloth around our hands to show we were now joined as husband and wife. Then it came to the part I wanted to hear the most, even though it was in Latin.

"Per vox largior super mihi, ego iam denuntio vos maritus quod uxor. Ego sino vos basio Pontus." Titus smiled at me wider and I did too. Then Titus brought his lips to mine in a loving kiss.

It was a short kiss, but it was magical all the same. Our lips were together for a simple peck on the lips before we took ourselves away and started walking together down the aisle hand in hand. There were nuns at the doorway throwing rice above us and saying their prayers and words of congratulation in French. There was a man there holding a camera. Titus made his presence known to me and I smiled at the camera while resting my head on Titus' chest. The man said a few words in French to Titus, and he answered in fluid French right back and handed him a small piece of paper with writing that I recognized as the address of the post office in my village. The steel carriage was outside the cathedral waiting for us and it even had a driver this time. The driver looked oddly beautiful. When we got to the carriage, he smiled almost evilly at me. It frightened me a moment. Then Titus helped me into the carriage, and we were off to a new destination.

"Who's the driver?" Titus kissed my forehead.

"His name is Advent. We're friends from my time in France. Don't worry, he won't hurt you." I should have thought he was a vampire I suppose. Then Titus continued with his thought. "I have made sure that he stays quiet, of course." I looked at him confused.

"What do you mean?"

"We can't have the Volturi knowing about us. They would frown upon a love like ours. I've instructed Advent to remain quiet about this whole thing."

"How do you know he will?" Titus smiled.

"He owes me a little favor." I sighed.

"Do I even want to know?" Titus grinned and kissed my forehead.

"I saved him from a werewolf about three hundred years ago. He still owes me a favor from that, so I demanded that he stay quiet."

"As long as nothing bad comes of it." Titus caressed my cheek reassuringly.

"Don't worry, Nicoleta. He knows better than to cross me. He's seen what happens to those who cross me." My face remained blank for a moment. The he kissed me. "Don't worry, my love. It's our wedding night. We shouldn't worry about such things." Then I smiled nervously. The wedding night had completely escaped my mind the past few hours. And I still had no idea what the wedding night was all about. Titus had only told me that it was something that had to be experienced and couldn't be explained.

"You're right, my love, as always." He chuckled and kissed me sweetly again.

We rode for a while until we were back at the building I had gotten ready at. I followed him up to the same room and Titus nodded his head at Advent as his way of thanks. Advent nodded back, then was gone before my eyes. If Titus hadn't explained a vampire's speed, I would still think it was magic. It still felt like magic to me. When we got up to the room, he turned lit up a few lanterns and walked over to the window and closed the curtains. Then he walked back over to me and took me in his arms. My breathing and heartbeat quickened. I knew he noticed. He smiled and took my chin in his hands and lifted my face to look at him.

"Don't be nervous, my love. If you don't want to make love, then I don't mind." I looked into his scarlet eyes for a moment. The way he said it made it sound far from a requirement of a wife or anything that a wife is meant to tolerate. But I wasn't sure what it was I was about to do. There was one thing I knew. I would rather learn in Titus' arms than any man in the whole world. I smiled at him at last, and shook my head.

"No. I want to. I want you to make me yours." Titus face was blank for a moment before smiled his charming smile and brought his face closer to mine. The lamp light seemed to make the room feel more romantic and I felt myself start to get dizzy. I held onto Titus tightly in the hopes that he would keep me from falling over.

"If that's what you want, my love." He stayed back a moment to let me confirm my answer.

"It is." His smile widened a margin and his eyes became intense with what I recognized as love and passion.

"Then that's what you shall have." After he said that, he brought his lips to mine in a loving kiss that I knew so well.

Our kiss was simple at first, but he deepened it after a time by licking my bottom lip asking for entrance into my mouth. I brought my arms around his neck and he wrapped his arms around my waist. We kissed for several minutes. I started feeling light headed again. Then Titus took his lips from mine and kissed my nose.

"You look so beautiful." I fought a giggle.

"And that's a lovely shade of lipstick you're wearing, darling." He chuckled and brought one of his hands to his mouth. He checked to see how much was there and let go of me to walk to the bathroom for a cloth. He covered it with water and wiped away all the red lipstick. Then he came over to me and offered.

"May I? I would like to taste your lips. Not dyes." I smiled and nodded.

"Of course." He smiled and cleaned my lips of its paint and gave me a sweet peck before running to the bathroom to put back the rag and coming back and taking me in his arms again.

"Now that we've handled that, let's get back to what we were doing." I smiled and brought my lips back to his. My arms immediately wound around his neck and his arms wound around my waist. Then he lifted me so my feet were dangling above the ground and he walked closer to what I assumed was the bed. My eyes were closed, so I couldn't tell.

When he was in the spot he wanted, he placed me back down on my feet. He licked my bottom lip again and I let him in to explore my mouth. His tongue brushed everywhere there was to caress and his hands traveled all along my back. My tongue played around his mouth while still being cautious of his teeth. Once or twice, I would taste his venom on my tongue. It was so intoxicatingly sweet. Too sweet even. But it tasted as he smelled. My arms stayed tied around his neck while his hands caressed and rubbed my back with stone cold hands that might as well have been silk. After kissing me for several minutes, Titus took his lips from mine and began to kiss along my jaw. His tongue would lick my jaw and make me shudder from the tickling feeling. His teeth would even touch my skin, but it was no more than a careful brush that only tickled.

His mouth moved from my jaw to my ear where he licked along my ear and sucked on my earlobe. One of my hands trailed into his hair as he kissed my ear and neck. The other hand moved slightly so it was resting on his shoulder. His head was bent down further trying to kiss every part of my neck. When he licked my neck, I noticed that they were mostly pulse points. And yet I still wasn't scared. I knew I had nothing to fear from Titus. I knew he would never hurt me and I knew he had enough control over himself not to indulge. The good in living for so long, I suppose.

But then, as he was still kissing every part of my neck, his hands, which had been caressing up and down my back, now went to the strings of my wedding dress and began to untie them. I breathed in trying to calm myself in the hopes that I would get over my shyness. His fingers worked quickly and had my dress untied before I even realized he was doing it. Not being completely sure what else to do, I followed his example and pushed his jacket off his shoulders and he released me to let it fall. As soon as his jacket was off, he started to pull my dress down gently. He was looking at me while he was pulling. His face seemed to be so serene and calm. I envied how relaxed he appeared to be. I tried to smile, but I wasn't sure how well I was doing. When I was standing before him in just my knickers, he brought his hands to my face and made me look into his eyes while his thumbs caressed my cheeks. I knew I was blushing now, but I kept trying to smile. Then he kissed my nose once before saying anything to me.

"It's alright to be nervous, my love." I smiled a little and tried to breath.

"I don't want to be. It's you. I shouldn't be so nervous." He smiled his charming smile and shook his head gently.

"It's normal to be nervous, Nicoleta. This is new to you." He gave me a quick kiss. "You know you can call this to a stop at any time. It's all up to you." I kept looking at him when he said that. His hands stayed on my face, so I brought my hands to his and caressed his cheeks like he was caressing mine.

"I love you. That makes everything alright, right?" He smiled wider and nodded his head.

"I love you too, Nicoleta. And I want to make this the best experience of your life." I really smiled at him then. I took another deep breath and didn't say anything. I only went on my tip toes and kissed him.

He took me into his arms again and bent down his head so we could share another passionate kiss together. He licked my bottom lip and I let him in and met his tongue with mine as he came in. After we kissed for another several minutes, his hands started untying my corset. When it was untied, he took his lips away again and pulled it up over my head. I kept smiling this time, and he went back to kissing me. He gave me one last passionate kiss before he took his lips away again and started kissing along my jaw and down my neck. He licked my ear and sucked on my earlobe again before kissing and licking his way down my neck. This time he went much slower. His hands were at the top of the final layer of cloths and it felt like he was about to pull it down. He looked at me with a loving smile, silently asking if it was alright to continue. I smiled and nodded my head. He smiled gratefully and started kissing my neck again while pulling down my last layer of clothes.

When I was bare before him, his hands started to travel again. I quivered with every touch of his cold hands everywhere they went. First, they were on my hips. His hands spread over my hips and moved to my butt where he pulled me closer to him. My hands traveled down to his chest while he was doing that. He wasn't wearing a cumber bun around his neck. He only wore the white shirt and a black vest. While he started kissing my shoulders, I tried unbuttoning his vest and shirt as fast as I could manage. He let me do that myself. His hands stayed on me as is hands moved from my butt up my back and down again. He brought his hands forward and rested them on my stomach for a minute before going up again. I was finally able to unbutton his vest and shirt and he let go of me for a moment and pulled them off.

When his shirts were off, I stared at his chest and felt star struck. In the light of the lanterns, his skin almost looked like a human tone, but without a single imperfection. His skin was the pale olive tone that was only his, but made darker from the lamplight. His hands ran along my arms and waited patiently for me to look at him and take him all in. My hands moved slowly all over his chest. Like his hands, he was hard as stone and cold. It was like touching a statue. He remained silent as touched him. His hands finally moved down my arms until he got to my wrists. When he had a hold of my wrists, he pulled my arms up around his neck and patted them there until I was holding on tight. His hands went back to my back and he looked at me with his charming smile. I smiled too. Then he started to bend a little while his hands moved from my back, to my butt, then to my legs. When his hands were on my legs, he pulled me forward and wrapped my legs around his waist. His whole body was like a rock, so it was easy to hold on.

When I was secure in his arms, he walked the rest of the way to the bed and placed me down. He kneeled above me and I caught his eyes wondering over my body. I blushed and brought my hands up and was about to cover myself. But Titus wouldn't let me. He took my wrists in his hands and gently pulled them above my head. He smiled reassuringly at me and gave me a sweet kiss.

"Don't hide from me Nicoleta. I want to see you." I blushed even more when he said that, but I didn't fight him. Instead, I took a deep breath and tried to relax. His smile remained reassuring and charming as he looked at me. Then he lowered his lips to my skin again. He started kissing my neck and down to my shoulders.

I brought my hands up and circled them around his back, brushing my nails along his rock hard skin. His kisses were loving and gentle as he kissed every part of my shoulders. But I felt a desire for him to do something more. I suddenly felt like what he was doing wasn't enough anymore. He seemed to know this and his lips kept moving lower on my chest. I shuddered when his lips were between my breasts and my hands moved up his back and into his short hair. I started breathing harder when his lips started kissing my left breast. When his lips touched my breast, I moaned from the cold of his mouth all the more. I felt him smile when he heard me, and that made me smile too.

Then Titus took the tip of my breast in his mouth and I shook all over again. He didn't bite me, but he did lick and suck my breast with such care. All the while, his hands squeezed and massaged my waist and ribs and curves and my thighs. I started feeling tingly and tense, but in a marvelous way. The rock hardness of his body seemed to add to the pleasure of having him so close to me. One of his hands massaged my breast while the other played along my body. I brought my legs up to cradle his body when his hand traveled to my leg. As his hand went to my leg, he started kissing across my chest and to my right breast. He did the same masterful thing to my right as he did to my left and it felt just as wonderful.

My fingers laced through his short hair trying to force him closer to me whether it was possible or not. His mouth then left my breast and started kissing all over my ribs and stomach. The whole time, I clutched onto his hair with a loss to what else I should do. His lips kissed me everywhere, and then some. I felt like I was floating, even with him holding onto me. As he kissed my stomach, his hands traveled down my legs, then to the inside of my thigh. It felt nice, so I didn't let myself think about where he was. Then one of his hands ventured between my legs, where tension only grew. I couldn't recognize my voice when I squeaked his name as his fingers played and maneuvered around where I realized I wanted him the most. The cold of his fingers seemed to make the feeling mind numbing. My head was spinning purely from what he was doing to me right now. Then his fingers delved in where I least expected, and it felt wonderful. But as his fingers moved, I felt an odd sort of stinging feeling, but it was so minimal that I ignored it completely.

"Are you alright, Nicoleta?" I was taken out of my trance when he said that. I gave him a confused, small smile.

"Why wouldn't I be?" His face became cautious looking, but he still smiled at me. He kissed me where his fingers hand been, then kissed his way back up my body. I forced myself to breath as he kissed his way up and kissed along my neck. I scratched my nails along his back as he kissed me and I was smiling when he looked at me. His face was right above mine after he kissed his way back up and I brought my hands to his face and kept smiling at him.

"I probably should have told you this before." I was confused, but I didn't stop smiling at him.

"Told me what?" He gave me a loving half smile and gave me a loving kiss. His lips tasted oddly salty combined with his usual sweet taste. I assumed that was my fault. When he ended his kiss, he looked at me with love and nervousness in his eyes. The nervousness took me by surprise. I would have never realized it was there if I didn't know him so well. "What's wrong?" He let out a breath that wasn't needed and he put his fingers inside me again. I sighed and waited for him to explain. Before explaining, he brought his lips close to my ear where his cold breath brushed my ear and made me melt.

"Do you feel what I'd doing right now?" I nodded. "Does it feel good?" I smiled and nodded while holding him tighter. "Did you feel any pain when I first did it?"

"A little. It was just a small sting." He took another unneeded deep breath again.

"What I'm doing right now isn't the extent of what will happen. When we couple, it will hurt. But that will be it. It only hurts once." I hadn't expected that.

"How badly?" His face remained serious.

"I don't know. I just know it hurts the first time for a woman. If you don't want to do this, then tell me and it will stop now." I looked into his eyes trying to think. He took his fingers away, but I was still looking at his face. Even if I did want to stop, how could I saw no to him? I knew I was the most important thing to him and I knew that he loved me. I loved him in return and loved him all the more for thinking of me. I took a deep breath at last and gave him a quick kiss.

"I trust you, Titus. And I want to be yours. I'll take any pain for that." He smiled again and shook his head gently at me.

"Oh, Nicoleta. You silly, sweet, trusting little human." I smiled back.

"Oh Titus. You handsome, loving, indifferent little vampire." He chuckled and kissed my nose.

"Little nothing, my love." His smile didn't fade when he brought his lips to mine again. I was sure there was a joke, but I didn't know what it was. I let it go when he kissed me. I didn't care enough to end this.

My hands went back to his chest when one of his hands left my body. He started kissing the pulse of my neck again and I faced the ceiling with my eyes sealed shut. Then I heard a zipper and fabric moving. I was intrigued, so I looked where I heard the sound and my eyes widened at what I saw. I already knew men and women were very different, but I never knew exactly how. My hands that had already been on his chest timidly went down to touch the object of my attention. He didn't stop me from moving my hands, so I kept going until it was in my hand. He groaned when I touched him and I realized he found that pleasurable. I couldn't believe I hadn't noticed it. It felt the same as the rest of his body, like touching granite. I'd felt it, but never knew what it was. And now I did.

"I think I understand why it'll hurt." He smiled and kissed my cheek. I hoped I was giving him a compliment. Evidently, I was.

"I'll go slowly." I shook my head.

"No. If you go slowly, it'll only hurt more." He looked at me a moment thoughtfully.

"Are you sure?" I nodded.

"Yes." His face stayed thoughtful as he looked at me, but he did eventually smile at me and give me a kiss.

"Alright my love." He brought his lips to mine again in a loving and simple kiss. My arms tied around his shoulders again as he guided himself to me. And as I asked, he entered me in one smooth stroke.

It didn't hurt at first. But the further he went, the more of a sting I'd begun to feel. Then when all of him was inside me, the pain was much worse than before. It felt like I'd been stabbed. He took his lips away when my pleasured moan turned into a small screech of pain. He started kissing all of my face and neck whispering loving words into my ear, telling me he wished it didn't have to hurt and that it would feel better in a moment. I simply asked him to wait a moment for the pain to ebb. I wasn't sure how long he waited for me, but when the pain was finally gone, I kissed his cheek and held onto him tighter.

"Alright. It doesn't hurt anymore." Titus kissed my cheek then brought his face back to mine so we were looking at each other eye to eye. He smiled at me and gave me one more kiss.

"I love you, Nicoleta." I smiled back.

"I love you too, Titus." We smiled at each other and I closed my eyes when he started to move. The movements were subtle, but they did so much.

I let my head fall back and didn't hold back any of my sounds of pleasure as he moved. He supported his weight on his elbows and continued what he was doing. The more he moved, the more wonderful it felt. My head had already been spinning from the feel of his hands on me. Now I felt like I was flying. He was going at a slow pace, which felt wonderful. But after a time, I started feeling like I wanted more. I didn't know what more was, but I hoped he would. I didn't recognize my voice as I spoke to him. It was strained and weak with pleasured moans, but he understood me anyway.

"Titus." He kept moving without saying anything in response at first. So I said his name a little louder. "Titus."

"Yes, Nicoleta?" His voice sounded exactly the same as always. There wasn't a bit of strain to it.

"More. Please, Titus, more." I was thrilled that Titus knew what I wanted seeing as I had no idea.

When I asked for more, he lifted himself up into a sitting position, pulling me with him never letting me separate from him. When I was on his lap, I felt him go deeper again and I had to whine a moan. Both his hands rested on my hips and he pulled me in every direction he wanted. All the while, my head was resting on his shoulder and kissing his neck. Eventually, the needed pattern became stuck in my mind, so I tried doing my part. Staying on my knees straddling his lap, I lifted myself up and down, knowing he enjoyed it because it felt wonderful for me. His hands stayed on my hips and guided me as I moved. My finger laced back through his hair trying to hold onto him for fear that I would float away.

As I kept moving, I noticed his chest vibrating. I thought he was laughing at first. But when I really listened to him, I realized he was growling. I kissed up his neck and along his jaw until I kissed his lips and we were looking into each other's eyes. When I looked, his eyes suddenly seemed brighter. A much brighter scarlet red than before. They weren't glowing like I first thought, they were simply brighter. His expression was miles away, but somehow still directed completely towards me. He brought his lips to mine again and forced his tongue into my mouth with a little more force than he'd ever used before. I kept moving, knowing that he was enjoying it as much as I was.

As I continued to move, I kept flying higher and higher into the sky as tension kept building in my body with what seemed like no way to ease it. Then I was literally flying. One instant, I was sitting on his lap letting his hands guide my hips, then the next instant, I was lying on the bed with Titus above me, but his face was buried into my neck. He started moving much faster. He was moving much faster and much harder and deeper than before. I didn't fight him. I held onto him tightly as he moved and I felt my body keep getting more and more tense by the instant. He kept growling, but it was under his breath. I was too lost in the moment to be worried about it at all. I did realize his hands were holding onto me much tighter than they had been and it was hurting me. But it almost felt like it was part of the loving action. He kept going faster and faster until I felt friction from the sheets on my back as he moved. I tried to fight moans, knowing I would only scream. So I bit into his shoulder.

Luckily, his skin was far too hard for my teeth to break through, but somehow, his skin didn't break any of my teeth. Not wanting to push my luck, I started kissing his neck as hard as I could, trying to keep any screams that might escape at bay. But eventually, I couldn't take it anymore. My head fell back from his shoulder and I kept my screams of pleasure as quiet as I could. Titus startled saying little things here and there, but it was all in Latin. And he was talking far too fast for me to even get a basic idea of what it was he was saying. But the more he moved and the faster he went, the more everything began to get drowned out in the noise and commotion of what we were doing. I couldn't think anymore. I couldn't even remember my own name anymore. I couldn't hear Titus growling anymore and I couldn't even hear myself moan and scream. All I cared about was what this man was making me feel. The tension was getting tighter and tighter and it seemed like it was coming to an end. I kept reaching higher and higher into the sky feeling like there would never be an end, and knowing that I didn't want there to be an end. But it eventually did end. And when it did, I'd felt like I'd reached the highest point in the world and had exploded like fireworks in the sky. He kept moving, keeping me in that high place, never letting me come down. Then I felt more cold come into me and I felt like it was entering into my womb, and with a few more thrusts, he stopped moving and I began to come down from my glorious high.

I went limp for a moment. I felt so numb, but I couldn't seem to care about it. I breathed heavily as I tried to get my heartbeat under some control. Titus' cold skin helped me feel cooler and I wasn't overheated even after what we had just done. I was floored and baffled. I felt like an adult for some odd reason. I finally knew what it was all those wives were talking and laughing to each other about. But knowing that, I couldn't imagine why they would laugh at it. I had felt so free and beautiful the whole time. The weight of Titus' cold, hard body had been the only thing keeping me on earth as he made me experience the most mind numbing pleasure I'd ever experienced. I'd never felt more like a woman. Even wearing pretty dresses and fine jewelry didn't compare to how feminine I felt right now. Titus was very still. I'd worry that he was paralyzed too, but he was inhuman in so many ways. Not just in the literal sense either. There was no way he was tired I knew. I kissed his cheek when I found my neck muscles again and he smiled and lifted his head to look at me. He took himself out of me, then pulled me with him onto his chest so I was still straddling his waist and looking into his loving eyes.

"I can't believe they laugh at it." Titus chuckled and kissed my nose.

"Like I said, my love. It's not something that can be explained. You have to experience it. And with regards to why those other wives would laugh about it, a number of them aren't in love." I giggled.

"Feeling like that, why would love effect anything?" He started laughing again.

"Because, Nicoleta. When you love someone, you feel like you want to please them and they feel the same way and do all they can to pleasure their mate. That's what I did with you. And without even trying, that's what you did with me. It made the experience more worthwhile. People who aren't in love can't feel love making that way because they don't care about the other's needs."

"I can't imagine it not feeling that wonderful."

"Because you love me, my darling, as I love you." He kissed my nose and my lips. "And that's how it will always be."

We smiled at each other for a long time after that. I felt my eyelids getting heavy, but I forced myself to stay awake. I wanted to look at him. I wanted to see my husband's face staring at me with a love in his eyes that only I would ever know and see. I loved knowing that I was the single woman he loved and would ever love. It made me feel so secure in our love. But eventually, I couldn't stay awake anymore, and I closed my eyes breathing in his sweet scent. I dreamed of him that night. I dreamed that we spent eternity in each other's arms. I still remembered that dream when I woke up the next morning to his smiling face. His back was resting against the headboard when I opened my eyes and my head was now resting on his chest.

"Morning, my love." I smiled and kissed his still bare chest.

"Morning, my darling." He smiled a little wider when I said that. I breathed in his scent once again, then looked at his eyes. But I suddenly realized his face looked strained. "What's the matter?" He sighed.

"I didn't want to bring this up, but you must remember you were a virgin my love." I gave him a confused look. When he knew I didn't understand what he was talking about, he pointed his finger down and I looked where he was pointing. That's when I saw the large red stain on the covers. My eyes widened and I leaped away from Titus and ran to the bathroom and closed the door.

"I'm sorry, Titus, I'm so sorry." My voice was quiet from embarrassment, but I knew he could hear me. I heard his response from behind the door.

"It's alright, my love. It's not your fault. Like I said, it only happens the first time." I looked at myself wanted to see the excess of blood that was on me. As I looked, I saw several red spots all over my body and little bruises that looked like hand marks on my arms, and along my waist, hips and legs. I finally saw the stain of blood and reached for a wash cloth and covered it with water and started dabbing and rubbing away the blood hoping to get it all gone.

"Still. I can't imagine how much it bothered you." Then, before I even realized he'd come in, he was standing behind me and holding me to him with his arms wrapped around my waist. He kissed my neck sweetly and brushed my waist gently, avoiding my bruises.

"You could never bother me, my love. Never. I only hope you aren't sore or in pain. I know I started losing control with you last night. I wanted to avoid any bruising, but obviously I failed on that note." I shook my head and looked at him in the mirror.

"I didn't even notice. Last night was magnificent. Not even a little bruising can change that fact." He smiled and chuckled under his breath and kissed my neck again. Then he turned me around to face him and I kept my hands on his chest as he kept his arms around me.

"I love you, my sweet, innocent, fragile little human wife." I giggled lightly and rested my head on his shoulder, still looking at his face.

"And I love you too, my powerful, arrogant, inhuman and indestructible, and far from little vampire husband." He chuckled at my attempt at his joke and I laughed with him. After we laughed together, he brought his lips to mine in a loving kiss that was immediately passionate when he licked my bottom lip. When I opened my mouth to let him in, he held me so close to him that I felt like I was molded to him. And in all the time we kissed and made love, I couldn't remember a single moment that I'd ever been so happy and couldn't seem to even recall the days when I had once thought of the man making love to me right now, as the evil Count Dracula that haunted my childhood.


	6. To Love Her So

**To Love Her So**

**Winter 1892**

**NPOV**

I was walking around in the garden basking in the sun. Titus wasn't home at the moment. He said he needed to go somewhere on 'business' and left me with Aquilius as my companion while he was gone. I'd really become quite fond of Aquilius. He was like the dog I never got to have. He was loyal, loving, playful and always good for a buddy, everything a dog should be. I told Titus I really liked having Aquilius around, and since then, he'd pretty much given Aquilius to me. He was still technically Titus' dog and followed his orders, but he was still every bit my friend as any dog I could ever hope for. The other dogs that Titus would keep on guard were far more all business, no play. The bats, for the most part, were just as stoic. They always looked out and would attack without warning anyone who dared come too close to the castle.

There was only one incident where I'd seen them attack someone. Somehow, a band of gypsies had found their way to the castle while wondering through the woods. They saw me and were about to try and capture me, but Aquilius and all the other dogs and the bats attacked them before they could move even a foot towards me. I was mortified for hours after that little incident. They'd all drank them dry. There was no blood left in any of the gypsies when they finally stopped. They looked like wrinkled elderly by the time the animals were done with them.

When that had happened, Titus had been gone for two whole days. I began wondering what he could possibly be doing. I started thinking about what we'd talked about that last week he was here hoping that maybe he'd told me and I'd just forgotten. But nothing came to mind. I remembered telling him one night that I was sad we couldn't have children. I couldn't remember how that came up, but it did. I would normally be worried that he might be up to something with regards to that, but I wasn't worried. He didn't want children, even if we could have them. He found kids to be vile and annoying and felt a child would take up far too much of our time and he wasn't willing to share me with something that he feared would later be an ungrateful little brat. I always tried to tell him that if we could have children, ours would never be that way, but he remained unconvinced. He claimed that he'd seen far too many ungrateful rich children in this world that deserved a good lashing, but never got it. I'd let it go after that. There was no point in arguing over something we could never have.

I couldn't think of anything that he might have said that would tell me what he was up to these past few days. I wondered if Aquilius could tell me somehow and asked, but like any dog would, he only stared at me, then went on his back asking for a belly rub. I'd sighed to myself and started scratching his belly like he asked. A few more days went by and I kept waiting for Titus to come back home. Then one morning, I woke up to Aquilius licking my face. I opened my eyes and looked at him with an annoyed smile. When I was awake, Aquilius left the bed, then came back with a little note in his mouth. I smiled wider now and took the note from Aquilius. My name was written on the envelope in his memorable script and when I took out the note, there was only one sentence.

_Follow Aquilius outside._

I looked at the note confused for a moment. When I put the note on my bed, Aquilius gently pulled on the end of my robe and let go to run to the door. I stayed in my robe, put on my mink coat and boots, and followed after him trying to keep up with his already slow pace for him. When we finally got to the front door, Aquilius waited for me to catch up to him and waited at the door. I opened it when I got to him and was taken aback by the feel of the cold winter air. It wasn't snowing and there wasn't a lot of snow on the ground, thankfully, but it was still really cold outside. There wasn't anything outside the doors, then I saw Aquilius running towards the gardens. I followed after Aquilius and tried to keep up as best I could. When he stopped running and I finally caught up to him, he was sitting at Titus' feet while he was sitting on the glass bench next to a large box covered in holes. He was smiling his triumphant smile at me and I returned his smile with teasing suspicion.

"And what are you up to, darling?" He chuckled lightly under his breath and stood up from the glass bench.

"I have a present for you, my love." I smiled wider.

"And I thought that box was just there." He chuckled at my joke and walked over to me and gave me a kiss. "Is this the reason you were gone for so long?" He nodded.

"Same reason I was gone for so long a few weeks ago too." I rose an eyebrow at him.

"I see. What gift are you giving me that took so much time to plan?" We were still facing each other and smiling.

"It's something that I hope makes up for not being able to have children." I gave him a confused look.

"I thought you didn't want children anyway." He nodded.

"True, but I still feel bad. But I never said anything about what's in that box." Titus let go of me, then took my hand and pulled me with him to the little box. When we were a little closer, he pulled me in front of him and started pushing me gently towards the box as I walked. "I know how women often love small, yappy things." I was about to ask what he meant, but then I saw what was in the box.

It was three small puppies covered in fur. They had the most adorable faces and little curled tails of fluff. All three couldn't be any bigger than a melon and their tails started wagging with excitement and they ran to the corner of the box to greet me. One barked, and it was the cutest sound I'd ever heard. One had a coat that was similar to a Husky's coat. It had a white muzzle, black around the cheeks, eyes, and face, a black back and black legs with white feet and a tail that was black on top but had white fur on bottom. One was all over blonde and had the sweetest little brown eyes I'd ever seen. And the final one looked white as the snow on the ground.

"They're adorable." I heard Titus smile triumphantly.

"I knew you would love them. They're called Pomeranians. They're a dog of royalty, hence the reason it was so hard to get one let alone three."

"Are they from the same liter?" He shook his head.

"Two different mothers. The black and white one I found in Austria. The other two I found in a liter in Belgium. They're all around the same age though. The black one's only five days older than the other two." I turned around to face Titus again.

"You went through all that trouble to get them for me?" He smiled wider and nodded before giving me a quick peck.

"Like I said, I knew you'd love them." I gave him one last smile, then lifted my face to his and kissed his stone cold lips.

"You know me well. I do love them."

"And when they're old enough, I'll change them for you."

"But then they'll be your dogs." He shook his head.

"Not necessarily. If I tell them to follow you and protect you, then it will be as if I'd never changed them. That's why Aquilius is so loyal. That and he really does like you. He thinks you give the best belly rubs." I giggled.

"And how would you know he's thinking that?"

"It's all in his body language. You don't need to be a mind reader to read dog body language. And since dogs are such companionable animals, they have a whole system to that. It's the same for most pack animals." Then I looked at Aquilius for a moment, who was standing next to me staring up at me with his tail wagging.

"You don't think Aquilius will get jealous do you?" Titus shrugged.

"He's been the dominant dog all his life, so he might. Older dogs, or any kind of animal, don't always respond well to new animals. But I've handled that."

"Have you?" He nodded and chuckled at the skepticism he heard in my voice.

"Yes. Aquilius has been ordered never to harm these dogs. And he's an old softy anyway. He'll like having puppies around." I smiled at Aquilius and he gave me a doggy grin right back and started nudging my hip with his nose.

"I hope so. They're so cute." He grinned triumphantly.

"So what are you going to name them?" While looking at Titus, I thought about it. I couldn't think of anything.

"I don't know." I thought a little longer, then looked at him again. "They're all female?" He nodded. "What are the feminine variations of your name again?" He chuckled and shook his head gently.

"Titia, Valeria, and Lucia." I smiled.

"Then that'll be their names. The black and white Pomeranian will be Valeria, the white one will be Lucia, and the blonde one will be Titia." Titus chuckled.

"You're naming your rats after me? How strange." I smacked his arm with a smile.

"Don't call them rats. You're the one that gave them to me." He shrugged.

"I gave them to you because I knew you would love them. That doesn't mean I can't be a typical husband and think my wife's animals don't qualify as a dog." I rolled my eyes at him and giggled.

"One shouldn't complain about what one bought." He chuckled again before kissing my forehead.

"Alright my love. I won't tease them." I kissed his chin.

"Thank you, my darling." We smiled at each other before he gave me a sweet kiss and lifted me up into his arms.

"They already have collars, so worry not. I don't know if you were able to see them under all that hair." I smiled.

"Thank you, Titus." He smiled and looked briefly at the puppies in the little box.

"I'll let you get better acquainted with your new pets." He put me back down and motioned his hand toward the box. I ran to it and pulled the box off the bench and pulled each puppy out of the box.

When they were out, they started running around me, chewing on the hem of my robe and jumping and hopping on two legs in a little dance trying to get my attention. I kneeled down to the ground and started playing with them. They licked and nipped my fingers playfully and lovingly. I stroked my fingers through their poufy fur and scratched them under their chins and bellies. Titus stayed standing close behind me watching. Aquilius started playing with me and the puppies, nuzzling us with his nose and play pouncing towards them. I scratched Aquilius' ears and his belly too, not wanting to make him feel left out.

"I think Aquilius likes them." I said without taking my attention away from the dogs. I heard Titus chuckle.

"Like I said, he's the most playful out of my dogs. Surprising considering he's a Doberman." I smiled.

"Even a beast can be a bunny." He chuckled again.

"I've never heard that expression."

"I know. I made it up."

"It's a cute expression. It means everything has a sensitive side, right?" I nodded.

"You've proved that many times before." Without missing a beat, he moved to stand right before me. The dogs all moved out of his way and he took my hands and gently lifted me up so we were facing each other. When I was standing, he brought me into his arms in a loving hug. I hugged him back and rested my head on his chest.

"You really think that?" I smiled and nodded.

"I really do. You do with me, anyway." He grinned.

"You're the only one that will ever see that soft side." I smiled wider.

"And I'm proud of it." He chuckled and gave me a loving kiss. As we kissed, I could feel little paws scratching at my robe trying to get my attention and asking me to hold them. I giggled away from the kiss and looked at my puppies. "Aww, you want to be held?" I heard Titus harrumph in annoyance.

"I should have known they would have been like having kids." I rolled my eyes and managed to take all three of my Pomeranians into my arms.

"Oh, shush, Titus. You'll come to love them." He rolled his eyes back at me.

"Of course, my love." I only smiled at him and let my puppies lick my face trying to win my affection.

Titus and I walked through the gardens with the dogs holding hands and talking. Aquilius was playing around with Valeria, Lucia, and Titia as if they were really his own little puppies. He never let them run too far away from us and he played with them as we walked along. As we walked, on occasion, Titus would kiss my hand or kiss my head or anywhere else he could kiss. We walked around the garden for a few hours before Titus took me back inside to make dinner for me and my Pomeranians. He made me a tasty sausage and potato pancakes. When he was done cooking, he took my mink coat and boots and left the kitchen for a minute and was back shortly after leaving. I finished my dinner quickly and Titus and I went to the library together after I was done with the dogs following with us.

Titus and I stayed in the library together and I listened to him play the piano for a few hours until I started getting tired. Titus noticed and picked me up and walked us to our room. All the dogs followed after us up the stairs. I could hear them panting as they ran to keep up. I glanced and saw Aquilius walking behind them making sure the puppies kept up. When we reached our room, he put me down on my feet and kept the door open for the dogs and closed it once they were in. Then he went to the bathroom and started a bath for me. When he left my side, I stood at the door for a moment when an idea came to my head. I knew he'd be able to hear me if I were to walk up behind him, but it didn't really matter.

I walked towards the bathroom and undid my robe and placed it over the side of the chair at the table of stationary. Then I walked the rest of the way to the bathroom as quietly as I possibly could, even if he could still hear me. I walked slowly into the bathroom and his back was to me as he heated the water in the tub for me. He didn't turn around to look at me, so I took advantage of his apparent carelessness. When I was close enough to him, I wrapped my arms around his neck and rested my weight on his back. I heard him smile and he placed his right hand on my arm. I kissed his ear and his neck and he remained silent as I did so. His hand rubbed my arm back and forth in that silence. I didn't stop until I felt my Pomeranians scratch my leg for my attention.

"Your dogs want you, my love." I smiled and let go of Titus. Then I looked at my puppies and started playing with them. After a minute, I felt Titus' cold hands grab my waist and lift me up into his arms and placed me in the warm water. I sighed when I was in the water.

"This feels so nice." He smiled and kissed my cheek. Titus sat close to me as I washed with the lavender and vanilla soaps. Titus washed my hair for me. He massaged my scalp when he was scrubbing the soap in my hair and it felt wonderful. There were a number of times I would have a headache and his fingers would get rid of it in a flash.

"How does your head feel?" I giggled when he said that.

"Wonderful. And it feels so clean. How do you always get my hair so clean?"

"I can see everything, my love. So I'm able to wash out all the oils completely and clean out all the soap." I sighed.

"I should have figured it was something like that." He chuckled and finished washing out all the soap from my hair. When he was done, he left my side for a moment and came back with a large fluffy white towel. I stood on my knees and he wrapped the towel around me while lifting me back into his arms.

When I was facing him, he was smiling my favorite charming smile at me and he brought his lips to mine in a searing kiss. My feet were dangling above the floor as he held me tightly to him and kissed me passionately. I held onto him tightly by digging my nails into his dress shirt and keeping my arms around his neck tightly. His hands remained on my back and traveled deliciously slowly along my back and on my arms and over my butt. Our tongues met and played together while his also traveled throughout my mouth making me shake and tremble. One of my hands trailed into his short hair and I started pulling to force him closer knowing that I wasn't hurting him. I felt him start to move, so I lifted my feet a little higher above the ground, making myself a little lighter.

I heard the chiming of my puppies' collars and tags as they followed us out of the bathroom and to our room. Titus was walking slowly, but it was fast enough that I didn't feel annoyed with the pace. Then my feet touched the blankets of the bed and they tickled my toes. They were cotton blankets for winter, while my summer blankets were silk. When my feet touched the blankets, I felt around for the bed and rested my feet on the mattress until I was standing on my knees with my arms still secure around his neck. His kisses stayed deep and intimate as his tongue moved around tasting me. Being cautious of his teeth, I felt around as well, loving the taste of him, even his overly sweet venom that would fall onto my tongue. His hands left my back and traveled to my legs and pulled them out from under me so I landed in a sitting position on the bed. He had a wide grin on his face and he brought himself closer to me and pushed me back onto the bed.

When he was above me and I was lying on the bed looking at him, he kissed me again and picked up where he left off, maneuvering around my mouth skillfully and making my head spin as he always did. My hands stayed in his hair and I brought my legs up and wrapped them around his waist hoping to bring him closer to me yet again. He finally let himself rest all his weight on me and it made me feel almost whole. Titus' hands traveled all over my body and scratched gently and massaged and pinched in all the right spots to make my body feel like pudding. While we kissed, I heard jumps onto the bed and then the things that made the sound were right at my face licking me. I smiled through the kiss and looked at my Pomeranians. Titus' chest vibrated gently to form a growl. I looked at him again but kept smiling.

"Just ignore them, Titus. They won't be any trouble." He looked at me then and he laughed a little under his breath at the site of all the dogs surrounding my face and licking me. He sighed.

"Alright, get off the bed." He grabbed all three puppies and placed them on the floor. Then, in Latin, Titus ordered Aquilius to do something. I'm assuming telling him to keep all the puppies on the floor and out of trouble. Aquilius came over and nudged the puppies with his nose to another part of the room. When they weren't at our feet anymore, Titus looked at me again with a smile. "Now that we're rid of the children," I grinned when he said that, "Let's get back to what we were doing." I nodded without a word and he brought his lips back to mine again in a passionate kiss, continuing exactly where he'd left off.

We kissed several minutes after that before he took his lips away and started kissing my jaw, then on to my ear where he sucked lovingly and gently. Then he licked around the inside of my ear which made me shiver, and then he started kissing all over my neck until he reached my other ear. I held on tighter and tighter as he kissed and his grip on me tightened only marginally. I couldn't hold up my head anymore and I laid limp beneath him with my hands traveling over his back. I started pulling on his shirt wanting to force it off him. He finally took off his shirt within a half second while he was sucking at the skin behind my ear where he knew it tickled. My hands played on his smooth, cold back as his hands did the same thing to me. He sucked my skin at random spots around my ears, neck, and collarbone while my nails attempted to dig into his skin with no success.

Then he took the towel away so he could see me at last. I didn't blush anymore when he looked at me. I was so used to it now, that it seemed natural to be this way with him. He knew every inch of my body like the back of his hand and I knew him the same way. There was no need for me to feel shy or embarrassed anymore. I brought my hands to his chest and felt my way around and looked at him with the same awe I'd always had when I saw his body. His hands went straight to my chest as well and I was fighting to keep my eyes open. I felt deliciously overwhelmed with feeling and sensations as he touched and I touched in return. He brought his lips to my body again and I closed my eyes when his lips and tongue played and kissed on my skin. His tongue swirled around my breasts and kissed lovingly and tenderly at every part he could.

His kisses trailed from my breasts to my midsection where he sucked and kissed just as diligently as he had the rest of my body. His hands were smoothing along my midriff and along my legs trying to bring me closer to him. He kept going on and on, taking all the time in the world with every part of me. Then he was finally where I needed him the most. The ice coolness of his tongue contrasted almost painfully with me. His hands tightened on me slightly and it was a little painful, but I completely ignored it. I couldn't bring myself to care about it at all. All I felt was Titus and his masterful, ingenious tongue. One of my hands left his hair and grabbed onto the sheets above my head, hoping that I could hold myself to earth.

I started feeling weightless, and yet a million pounds all at the same time. It was like I was feeling every sensation that was possible for me to feel. I felt two cold fingers inside me as he continued teasing me with his tongue. The feeling made me float higher and I could swear I felt the room spinning. He kept this up for a few minutes until I was forcing myself to stay quiet. When I was so close to not being able to go any higher, Titus stopped and started kissing up my body again. His hands went to my breasts and he squeezed and released them gently and repeatedly so that I felt like I couldn't bear to breath. My hand that was still in his hair started to travel back down his back as he kept kissing his way back up to me.

When he was close enough, I wrapped my legs around him again and brought both my arms around his neck. He kissed along my neck and sucked on my ear yet again as he started to move, mimicking the actions we would soon be doing. Even doing it this way made me whine. I kept my voice low and I moaned. Titus didn't mind my whimpering at all. I think he liked hearing it on the contrary. Finally, he kissed me and forced his tongue passed my lips again, which I gladly allowed. Without ending the kiss, Titus pulled me with him and he moved onto the bed in a way he thought more comfortable. One of his hands trailed into my hair and started brushing my wavy, still wet, hair above my head. That hand then gently held onto my neck and rubbed my jaw lovingly with his thumb.

Then I heard fabric moving and I sighed into the kiss in anticipation. I tightened the grip my legs had on his waist hoping to make the union happen sooner. When it did, I felt completely whole again. His cold body seemed to only add to the pleasure of it. It was a piercing sensation that I never got tired of. He stayed still a moment while he started giving me several sweet and tender kisses which I returned. He kissed my chin and the tip of my nose a few times as well as kissing my closed eye once. Then he started kissing my lips again and started to move. I was shuddering the whole time. Purely from pleasure and from the feel of his cold skin.

I began pulling at his hair, relieved that I wouldn't be able to pull it out anyway. His hair was soft as silk and strong as steel wire. It didn't even hurt him. He kept his pace moderate and simple. He was making me climb with him into the sky. Then he started moving faster to make the journey more pleasurable and made me feel like I kept getting closer and closer only to discover that I wasn't close at all. Then he grabbed a hold of my arms and pulled me with him so that I was straddling him and I felt my eyes go into the back of my head as he helped me move for a moment. When I had enough control again, I started moving myself only having his hands on my hips to guide me in every which direction he wanted.

My eyes remained closed the whole time. I wanted to be able to feel everything without any distractions. I would open to look at his face, but it was always only for a moment. I clutched tightly onto his chest trying to keep my balance that I had long since lost. I flew higher and higher with each movement of our bodies and I felt dizzy and drunk but in the most spectacular way imaginable. His hands started to move around my body and was feeling everything and would squeeze me in all the right places. He scratched my ribs gently to tickle me and it made me moan and giggle at the same time. I felt his chest start to vibrate under my hands, indicating that he was growling. I smiled when I felt it. It was always a good thing to feel him start to growl. It was his way of expressing that he was enjoying it. On occasion, he would mumble in Latin, but that wasn't very often. He didn't like doing that. He never told me why, so I never asked.

He started forcing my movements to be faster as I reached higher into the sky. I couldn't think anymore. I was at the point where nothing existed anymore except us. And I couldn't even remember what us was. I only remembered the feeling of us and how splendid it was. Eventually, I wasn't moving on my own anymore. He was dictating every move I made and I didn't mind in the least. Titus' hands remained on my hips as he made me move and I fell over onto him not able to support myself anymore. When I did that, he turned us on our sides and one hand grabbed a hold of my leg and held it over his hip. I simply clutched to Titus with what little strength I had left in my body and let him do all the work. I kept holding onto him tighter and tighter until I had to bite his shoulder because I couldn't seem to hold him tight enough. It was as if I was trying to force us into one person and I loved it.

His speed was blinding now. I couldn't keep up with his pace anymore. All I could do was feel the continuous and constant piercing feeling in my womb like nothing else in the world. Eventually, my body couldn't fly any higher and I felt myself crash. I thought I heard him make a low roaring sound in his throat before he also came to a complete stop and I felt myself go completely limp as I floated back to earth. He took my lips into a kiss and I didn't realize until his lips touched mine that he'd kissed from my collarbone along my neck across my jaw to my lips until we'd kissed for at least four seconds. My hands left his back and came to his face to hold him to me. He gave me one last peck on the lips, then kissed the tip of my nose, my cheeks and my forehead before nuzzling my nose with his.

"I love you, my darling." I smiled with my eyes still closed trying to recover from the blissful fall.

"I love you too, Titus. So much."

"Far more than I deserve." I shook my head as best I could and forced my eyes open to look at him with the sincerest face I could make in my current state.

"More than I deserve, my love." Titus smiled and gave me one last loving kiss before he moved again until I was under the covers and warm. He was dressed again and I was under the covers before I could blink twice. "Why do you always do that, Titus?" he kept his loving smile.

"Because, my love, my skin is too cold. If you get too cold, you won't be able to sleep and you'll get sick."

"I won't get sick." He kept smiling and shook his head before giving me another kiss. Then he looked over at Aquilius and nodded his head towards us. Before I knew it, I heard the little pitter patter of puppy feet as they ran to the bed and hopped on. They went straight to the foot of the bed and slept close to each other near my feet. Aquilius got on the bed too and took a spot close to the puppies.

"Get some sleep, my love. Tomorrow's a new day." I only nodded in response. I kept myself under the covers, but was sure to snuggle close to Titus so I was against his body. I fell asleep to the smell of his skin and awoke the next morning to his kiss. When my eyes finally opened, he looked at me lovingly and I smiled back. "You have a letter." My eyes widened.

"I do?" He nodded.

"One of the bats brought it to me around two in the morning. It's from your mother and father." In his hand was an envelope with an address I'd never seen before and an address I knew to be mother and father's house.

I opened the letter and read it quickly. I hadn't received a letter from my parents since I wrote them saying that I'd run away to Serbia. I didn't even receive a letter after I'd sent the announcement that I was getting married and after receiving the pictures from mine and Titus' wedding. It was a short letter, which was odd for anything from my mother. My mother usually babbled on and on until she didn't have any more paper to babble on. This letter simply told me that they wanted to meet my new husband and that they wanted us to come to their New Years Eve party they were throwing.

"Do you want to go?" I was taken by surprise when I heard Titus speak.

"Would you want to go?" He shrugged.

"I'll go if you want to."

"Really?" Titus shrugged.

"Sure. I can use stained glass to change my eye color and as long as no one touches me and I've properly fed the day of, then everything will be fine."

"Stained glass? Isn't something like that bad for your eyes?"

"For human eyes, yes. But for me, it's nothing. Everything on my body, even my eyes, are a lot more durable and it would take a lot more than glass to harm my eyes." I looked at Titus' eyes again, seeing the bright scarlet of them.

"What color were your eyes when you were human?" Titus shrugged.

"Probably brown. That's the common color. That or black." I smiled.

"Brown eyes, then. I didn't tell mother what color your eyes were, so there's nothing to worry about there." He chuckled.

"Indeed not." I looked at the foot of the bed and noticed that my puppies and Aquilius weren't there.

"Where are Valeria, Titia and Lucia?"

"They're with Aquilius eating breakfast. They were getting fussy and wanted outside, so I made Aquilius take them."

"Thanks for that." He grinned.

"Think nothing of it my love." Titus looked at the letter again. "New Years is a few days away."

"What's the date today?" Titus smiled.

"It's the twentieth, my love. So we have about two weeks before your parent's party." I looked away from Titus back at the letter.

"Why would mother wait so long to want to meet you? We've been married almost three years." Titus shrugged.

"My guess would be stubbornness. I know it's not fear at least. If Valcan knew what I looked like, he would have sent soldiers to the castle years ago when you parents received our wedding picture."

"I thought you knew they didn't know what you looked like." Titus nodded.

"I did. I never allowed them to get a good look at me. If they ever saw anything, it was the back of my head and that's hardly creatable for identification. Besides, I doubt they would be at a party so late at night anyway."

"It's a shame too. Valcan was always a good story teller." Titus gave me a little smile.

"So you're friends with the man that wants me dead?" I giggled.

"Worse. He's my uncle. My mother's brother." Titus chuckled.

"My, my, that does make it worse. What it would be like for Valcan De La Stigoni to find out that his niece married a monster his family has spent decades trying to kill." My eyes widened a little. Titus knew my concern and kissed my nose. "I won't tell him, my love. I'm not one that likes to deal with unneeded things like that. Telling him would only bring us trouble, and I'm far too old for trouble." I did smile then.

"Well, if it's any constellation, you don't look your age at all." Titus grinned at me and kissed my nose again.

"I would hope not, but thank you for saying, my love." I was silent a moment with a smile before I said anything more.

"Are you sure you don't mind going to this? If you don't want to go, we don't have to." Titus shook his head.

"I want to go, Nicoleta. It should be nice to meet your parents. Hopefully, it will put them at rest about us."

"I'm more concerned about mother ever forgiving me for running away." Titus chuckled his thick, rich laugh.

"You never ran away, my dear. I kidnapped you."

"Well, she doesn't know that now does she?" Titus chuckled again and a little harder this time.

"Touché, my love." We laughed together a little as I looked at the letter a little longer. I was happy to receive one after all these years of her never responding to any of my letters.

A little later that day, Titus showed me how to make the stained glass he would use to hide his scarlet eyes. It was time consuming to get it perfect, even for him. But when it was done, it was stained yellow and blue so that when they were against his red irises, they made brown. It was a sight to see. He even dimmed the candle light to darken his skin so he would look more human. Never was there a creature as beautiful as Titus with brown eyes.

"How do you like them?" I smiled a little wider when he said that and actually blushed.

"I love them. I'll bet anything that you had brown eyes when you were human." Titus smiled charmingly at me and made me feel like I was melting.

"You're probably right, my love."

A few days later, Titus gave me a new dress that he thought would be lovely to wear to the party. It was a black and white dress that hung off the shoulders and the sleeves went to my elbows before they flared out in black and white fabric. The base of the dress was white and sowed on it were swirls of black satin. The dress was beautiful and mesmerizing. It stayed in the closet for the rest of the week before we would go to the village. My mother's invitation said that she wanted everyone there by seven. The sun would still be showing slightly by then, so Titus thought it best if we be fashionably late and let everyone tease us for it. I didn't mind at all. We had reason to be late anyway seeing as we were supposedly traveling a much longer distance.

The day of the event, Titus was gone for most of the morning. I woke up to an empty bed and a note telling me that he'd gone out hunting and would be back by this afternoon. When I looked out the window, all the dogs were already outside and on guard ready to attack anyone that dared to come too close. I walked around the gardens for most of the morning and early afternoon with Aquilius, Titia, Valeria, and Lucia. Aquilius played games with them while I watched them with a smile. All the other dogs surrounding the castle were very serious looking and never moved an inch from their post to come anywhere near me. If I didn't know any better, I would think them to be statues. They wouldn't move, even if I walked over to them and petted them. They always remained completely still.

When Titus came home that afternoon, he did my hair into a sweet little curly updo that had little diamond and onyx barrette flowers accenting throughout my hair. When my hair was done, he helped me put on my dress and tied the corset tightly. By the time we were ready, the sun was almost completely gone and the moon was already in the sky. Titus held my hand and we walked together down the stairs and to where he was keeping the carriage he'd said he'd prepared for us. I was surprised that he was using the steel carriage. In the driver's seat of the carriage was a man that didn't acknowledge us or so much as look at us. I didn't even see his face. While we were walking to it, a little concern popped into my head.

"Do you think they'll find this strange?" Titus looked at me with a smile.

"They might. But I'm supposed to be your filthy rich Italian born husband in Serbia that is son to a man that owns a string of successful jewelry stores. If anything, I think they'll assume that I'm simply arrogant." I giggled.

"You are arrogant." Titus laughed his rich laugh at my little joke. When he was done laughing, we'd reached the carriage and he gave me a loving kiss before lifting me into the carriage.

"I suppose I'm giving off the right first impression, then, aren't I?" I smiled wider and nodded my head.

"That you would be." Titus gave me one last loving smile before he got into the carriage himself. "Wait, who's driving?" Titus smiled humorously a moment before answering me.

"He's a gypsy I found. He'll be our driver for tonight. Thankfully, the horses already know where they're going." I looked at Titus confused.

"Why would you say that? Just tell him to go southwest to the village." Titus' face suddenly became serious. My stomach turned as I expected the worst. "What did you do?" Titus sighed.

"I can hardly trust a vampire in such a situation. I don't know anyone nearby enough to have something on them or that would ever agree to do me a favor and not speak of it to others. At least with Advent, he owed me. But no vampire that's here is indebted to me in any way, so I had to come up with an alternative solution."

"And that alternative solution is a gypsy? How did you ever get him to cooperate?"

"Because he's brain dead." My face became more confused.

"What do you mean?" Titus sighed and closed his eyes for a moment before answering me. We weren't moving yet, at least. Titus hadn't signaled for the horses to start moving yet.

"I found him a few days ago, shortly after you received the invitation from your mother. I knew we couldn't just walk up to the village. We needed the carriage. But I didn't have a driver. So when I found this gypsy wondering around the woods alone, I kidnapped him and took him back to the castle and put a parasite in his brain. The parasite's been eating away at his brain for a week and a half. So far, he's still useful, but it won't be long before the parasite eats away at all the vital parts of his brain." I looked at Titus a little strange. He took my face in his hands and started caressing my cheeks. It had become his subtle way of making me not mad at him. What angered me was that it worked every time. "Please don't be angry, Nicoleta."

"I'll forgive you on one condition." He smiled a little.

"Anything."

"Before you do something like this, ask me what I think first. You never know. I might come up with a better solution. And I want you to put the man out of his misery. Letting him die slowly is cruel. I think you should make up for it." Titus smiled a little wider and kissed my lips.

"Of course, my love. He'll be dead by the end of the evening."

"Quick and painless?" Titus nodded.

"Quick and painless. He won't feel a thing." I finally smiled back at him.

"Good. I forgive you, in that case." I then brought my lips to his and we kissed for several moments. I tried not to let the driver bother me. After all these years, I still wasn't used to Titus' lack of compassion for anyone aside me from him and me. But I never let it show how much it bothered me. Trying to change that about Titus would be like trying to teach Napoleon to do a back flip. Both were dead, both immovable. When our lips parted, Titus kissed my nose and my forehead and was giving me his most charming smile.

"I'm happy to know that you forgive me." I only smiled at him in response. Then Titus was gone for a millisecond and back. When he was back, the carriage started moving. It was at the pace of blinding speed, then it was suddenly slow again. I looked up at him surprised.

"Are we there already?" Titus chuckled and smiled.

"Vampire horses, my love. Their speed puts even some of the fastest vampires to shame." I smiled and was taken by surprise when Titus suddenly gently pushed me away from him and I heard the carriage door open. I looked towards the open door to my left and saw a face I hadn't seen in five years.

"Bram!" He smiled at me and held his arms out to me.

"Nicoleta? Is that you?" I nodded as he pulled me out of the carriage and we shared a quick hug. I didn't even hear Titus come out of the carriage, but I knew he was out when I felt his hand brush my back. I looked over at him with a wide smile.

"I'm sorry, Titus. This is my cousin, Bram. Bram, this is Titus." Titus smiled politely. Bram's smile was a little more welcoming and even a bit dazzled, like he was in shock of Titus.

"Bram Stigoni? Son of Valcan Stigoni?" I froze a little when I realized that Titus already knew who he was.

"You know me?" Titus shook his head.

"Not personally of course until now. You're Nicoleta's cousin. She's told me a lot about you." I'd never said a word about Bram to him, but when it was Titus, him knowing things was never that much of a surprise.

"Really? She told us a little about you. I heard a lot about you when Auntie received the letter that Nicoleta was engaged." Titus smiled a little in humor, but hardly the humor I would see if he were talking to me.

"Why didn't mother send me a letter?" Bram shrugged.

"You know Auntie. She's stubborn as a mule. I suppose she didn't want to admit that maybe what you did was for the best. But Uncle finally convinced her to talk to you again because we all wanted to meet your new husband." I smiled.

"Well, here he is." Bram and I shared a small laugh before he opened the village gates to let us in.

"Go on and have fun. Tell Auntie I said to bring me some food."

"Why don't you come with us?" Bram shook his head.

"I can't. We've been keeping security extra tight tonight. Yesterday, five people went missing." I looked at Bram with surprise before glancing at Titus. I was relieved to see that he was also surprised. It was subtle enough that only I would ever be able to tell, but he was surprised.

"What happened?" Bram's face became uncharacteristically serious.

"Probably Dracula. Father yelled at us about it. It'd been so long since the last time Dracula had kidnapped anyone that he thinks we started getting lazy. But you can't blame us. The last time anyone went missing in the night was a good three and a half years ago."

"Who?" Bram sighed.

"Konstantin, Catrina, and Oscar Joldea………and Amelia." My eyes really widened at the last part. Amelia was his sister and my cousin and lifelong friend. I shook my head a little.

"You can't be serious. Amelia?" Bram nodded.

"Yeah. Father's pretty shaken up about it. So is mother. That's why he's reacting the way he is. He left a minute ago to get something to eat and then he'll be coming right back." I nodded a little without any other possible gesture or reaction.

"I can't believe it."

"I can't either. It's weird not having my big sister around. Even if most of the time she was telling me how much of a pig I was." I smiled a little at the memory. "Well, you better get inside. You two are already fashionably late as it is. Being any later would be plain rude." I smiled a little at his attempted at humor.

"You're right. We better get going." Bram and I hugged one last time and shook Titus' hand before we went into the village and started walking to my old home. I was stunned when Bram didn't react to Titus' hands. "How didn't he noticed how hard your skin was?" Even if Titus was wearing gloves, gloves couldn't mask his hard skin. Titus smiled charmingly and lifted a little bit of his glove to reveal a thick cotton lining underneath. I giggled a little and he laughed with me. "You really do think of everything."

"It's a gift, really." I smiled wider and shook my head at him. When I answered, my tone was teasing.

"Can I make a request?"

"Anything you want, my love." I giggled a little and kept up my teasing tone.

"When you meet my parents, please pretend you're not an arrogant know-it-all." Titus laughed at my joke, but contained his laugh to remain more or less under his breath. When he was done laughing, he kissed the top of my head.

"Anything for you, my love." We smiled at each other and he gave me one last little kiss before we continued walking to my old house. On our way, I saw uncle Valcan walking back towards the gates.

"Uncle." He looked up and finally noticed me. He smiled, but I could tell it was forced. He and Amelia had been close, so it was a chore for him to pretend to be happy for any reason after losing her to a vampire. I was only thankful that it wasn't my vampire. At least I was hoping it wasn't.

"Nicoleta. After all these years." I smiled back.

"It's been too long, uncle. It's wonderful to see you again."

"Likewise my dear." Then he looked at Titus and, like his son, was dazzled when he saw him. "This must be your new husband your mother's been telling me all about." I nodded.

"Yes. This is Titus. Titus, this is…"

"Valcan De La Stigoni." Titus interrupted me. "Nicoleta's told me all about you." I smiled a little hoping I looked convincing. Again, I'd never brought uncle Valcan up much. Titus simply knew him because Valcan had been hunting him since before I was born.

"Has she, now? Well, I'm flattered." Valcan looked at me a moment before looking back at Titus again. Then he shook his hand. Even knowing the layer of cotton was there, I still had a little panic attack. "I better get back to my post. It was a pleasure to meet you, Titus." Titus nodded respectfully.

"Likewise, Valcan." Valcan nodded his head respectfully in return, then walked past us back to the gates. Titus and I walked the rest of the way to the house and waited at the door after Titus knocked.

"They won't notice a thing?" Titus shook his head.

"They won't notice a thing. My eyes are brown from the stained glass, all of my clothes have a few layers of cotton underneath so my body feels like it has more give, and I fed earlier today." He say the look on my face and shook his head. "It wasn't me. I didn't hunt anyone here. I swear it." I smiled weakly.

"I assumed. But who did, then?"

"Probably a nomad or two. They pass through here from time to time and they leave once they've had their fill. I wouldn't worry about it anymore."

"But they think you did it." Titus shook his head gently.

"They think Dracula did it. And he doesn't exist. They're placing blame on a ghost."

"But still…" Titus covered my lips with his finger.

"Don't worry, my love. In all likelihood, the vampires responsible are gone. Don't worry about it. At least not now." I smiled a little and nodded my head. Then I looked to my right when I heard the house door open. I smiled wider and turned to face my mother.

"Nicoleta, you came!" I nodded.

"I was thrilled you invited me." Mother embraced me in a tight hug.

"It's been too long, Nicoleta. I was so mad at you. But I'm glad everything worked out for the best." When she let go of me, she finally looked at Titus. He walked closer so she could see him with the light from the house. I could almost swear I saw mother's jaw drop. "So this is Titus?" Titus smiled kindly and charmingly.

"That's me, madam. It's a pleasure to finally meet you." My mother even started blushing.

"Oh please, not madam. Call me Olivia." Titus kept smiling his heart melting charming smile.

"Of course, Olivia." My mother smiled wider and blushed deeper when she heard Titus say her name in his bass, honey voice. Finally, mother came slightly out of her trance and motioned for us to come in.

"Well, come in, you two, come in. You're letting in the mosquitoes." Mother immediately shut the door as soon as we were in. Then she looked at a woman that was standing in the corner. "Audrie, take their coats, please." Audrie nodded her head and took mine and Titus' coat. "I love your coat, by the way, honey. What is it?"

"Mink." My mother's face lit up a little.

"Oh, I love Mink. It's so soft." I nodded.

"It is."

"You look beautiful, honey."

"So do you, mother." Mother and I hugged again before she took my hand and leaded me further into the house where all the other guests were gathered and talking. The large grandfather clock I remembered was in plain sight and was decorated to make it the center of attention for when we would start counting down until midnight.

As soon as we were all in the room, everyone was looking at me and Titus. They would look at me a moment, then their eyes would be locked on Titus. Everyone, even the men and children, were dazzled by him. It was almost like they were hypnotized by his beauty and perfection. And I couldn't help but smile at the knowledge that he was mine and they were envious of me. I saw people that I hadn't seen in years that had been so vain when I knew them and it felt exceptional to see envy towards me in their eyes. I didn't see father right away. Mother pulled me and Titus with her around the room showing us to everyone. Women were grabbing at my hand to see my ring, and I saw envy flash through their eyes all over again when they saw it, and when they saw my rosary that Titus had made for me. It felt even better to tell everyone everything was one of a kind because Titus had made them all himself. I even took pride in telling them about the jade and glass gazebo he'd made for me and the three Pomeranians he'd so lovingly given to me. Titus simply stood back and listened with a grin on his face and would only speak when spoken to. Then I finally saw father come into the room with a small smile on his face and with the same stunned look when he finally looked at Titus.

"Father, this is Titus. Titus, this is my father." Titus smiled respectfully.

"A pleasure, sir." Father nodded back.

"Indeed. Please, you're no child. Call me Beryx." Titus nodded his head again.

"Of course, Beryx." Father smiled a little before speaking again.

"So you're the man that married my daughter? Tell me, you were married before, correct?" I kept my face straight as father spoke. I knew what he was doing. He was going to try and find something wrong with him so he and mother could later tell me I married the wrong man and should have stayed at home and married Boroi.

"Yes, Beryx, that's correct."

"What was her name?" Titus kept his face respectful, no matter how little of that respect I was sure father would soon deserve.

"Perseia."

"Her surname?"

"Evandii sir. Perseia Catia Evandii was her name."

"Evandii?" Titus nodded. "Your names don't sound Italian." Titus smiled wider, but hid his humor.

"It's Latin, Beryx. We both came from very old families. Very old." Father nodded a little in acknowledgement and waited a moment before speaking again.

"What happened to her, if you don't mind my asking?" I gave father a bit of a stern look knowing it wouldn't do any good. But Titus didn't show any offense if he felt any at all.

"She was murdered, I'm afraid. We don't know who or why, but she was murdered." Everyone's eyes widened and a few women started patting Titus' back in sympathy while also hoping for his attention. My father's face remained business like as he answered.

"That's a terrible shame. And you have no idea what exactly happened?" Titus shook his head.

"Sadly, no."

"Have you and your father at least investigated it?" Titus did show a bit of offense this time, but once again it was so subtle that only I would ever be able to tell it was there. Titus kept his same tone, though I could tell it was slightly hostile.

"With all due respect, sir. What are you implying?" I barged into the conversation not wanting it to get worse.

"Father, why don't I take Titus to the kitchen and get him some of your homebrewed whiskey? I'm sure he'll love it." Without giving anyone a chance to respond, I grabbed Titus' hand and pulled him with me towards the kitchen where father kept all his finished whiskey. When we were alone in the kitchen, I looked to see if anyone was looking after us. I started looking for the whiskey when I saw they were. "I'm sorry about that, Titus."

"You have no reason to be sorry, my love, it wasn't your fault."

"Still, my father was being rude and that shouldn't have happened." Titus closed the distance between us and took a hold of my shoulders and kissed the back of my head.

"My love, don't worry yourself over it. I won't be mad at you for something your father said."

"He shouldn't have been so rude. Father always taught me that you should respect your elders and father wasn't doing that." Titus chuckled a little.

"My love, he doesn't know I'm his senior. They all think I'm thirty five. Your father's almost fifty."

"Still." I felt like I was being childish, but Titus only hugged me around my shoulders and kissed the back of my head again.

"Don't worry, Nicoleta. Your parents don't like me. I don't care if they do. As long as you always love me, your parent's opinion of me is irrelevant." I sighed.

"But why don't they like you? They don't even know you. They didn't know Boroi very well and they were pleased as peaches to have me engaged to him."

"If it makes you feel better, your father's the one that doesn't like me. I think your mother thinks I'm too beautiful to hate." I giggled a little despite the situation.

"Figures you would win my mother because you're pretty." Titus chuckled again.

"I thought I was handsome."

"You're handsome in a pretty way." I turned around with a bottle of whiskey and walked to the cabinet to get another glass. I filled that up with the whiskey and handed it to Titus. "Here you go. My father's home made whiskey." Titus gave me a weird look.

"I won't like it, my love. I could smell it from the gate."

"I know you won't like it. But if you don't at least pretend you love it, then my father will hate you more and I don't want that." Titus smiled.

"Alright, alright. I'll pretend I love it." I smiled.

"Thank you. But please, wash your mouth before you kiss me. I hate whiskey. It makes me feel sick."

"You and me both, my love." Then he took a sip of the whiskey. He scrunched his nose and closed his eyes tightly. "Sweet Jesus, this is horrid." I couldn't fight a small laugh.

"I told you it would be. My father likes his whiskey strong." Titus sighed and started mumbling to himself in Latin. "What are you saying?" Titus looked at me with a smile.

"I'm trying to convince myself that I like it. I'm hoping it'll start tasting good if I say it enough."

"Would that work?" Titus shrugged.

"There's only one way to find out." Titus kissed my forehead and we walked back to the living where everyone else was waiting. Father saw Titus drinking some of his whiskey and smiled.

"Excellent whiskey, is it not?"

"Best I've ever had." Titus lifted his glass slightly to father respectfully and, with a big smile on his face, gulped the whole glass down. I was proud of him when he didn't so much as squint from the extreme taste.

As the party went on, my mother and father kept talking to Titus, my father occasionally asking inappropriate questions. But Titus answered every question with his devilish charming smile on his face. With all the women there trying to talk to Titus, I kept my arms around his possessively. I feared that Titus would be annoyed with me doing that, but I was wrong. He even held me to him with his arm around my shoulders and would kissed my head, simply because he wanted to. As the night wore on, everybody waited in anticipation for the start of the New Year. But in the mean time, we talked and ate and drank together.

"My daughter tells you in her letter that you're quite the Renaissance man." Titus smiled and looked at me.

"She says that, but I'm sure she exaggerates." Mother smirked and even giggled a little. I think mother was infatuated with Titus. He was a beautiful man and he had an accent that to this day made me quiver. It wasn't quite Italian, but it was close enough that no one would notice if they didn't know the difference. I only noticed because I remembered the accent the priest had that had come to us to fight him off. I shivered when I remembered that. Titus noticed, but wasn't given a chance to ask about it.

"I'm sure she isn't. From what I gather from her letters, you're educated in many useful things." Titus shrugged.

"It helps when you had every opportunity to learn from the best instructors in the world I suppose." My father asked a question next.

"So tell me, my son. Are you staying in Europe?" Titus gave my father a confused look. I was sure Titus already knew exactly what he was talking about, but he was faking ignorance for my father's sake. Even I knew what father was talking about.

"Why wouldn't I, Beryx?" My father sighed a little and took a sip of his whiskey.

"Well, you see Titus, one of the things we liked about the man we'd originally promised our daughter to had promised to move us all to America." Titus chuckled a little in that rich sound and I saw my mother start to blush at the sound.

"I see. You're hoping I'll do the same." Father nodded with a smile.

"We've grown sick of Romania. Especially that vile monster, Dracula." I noticed Titus force back a laugh. "But sadly, we cannot afford to go. We have enough money to be upper class here in Transylvania, but not in America."

"I hate to disappoint you, Beryx, but the last thing I ever plan to do is move to America. Americans are rude, and ungrateful, especially those damned New Yorkers. They spit upon you for having an accent or for speaking in broken English and coming from another country. Even with money, if you're not born American, you're no better than a diseased rat to them."

"But America is the land of opportunity. You could make a fortune with jewelry in America."

"With all due respect, Beryx, America is the land of opportunity for the already wealthy. And poor fool that goes there a poor man has little to no hope of ever becoming any more than the poor man he started out as. Do you know what large companies in America do to immigrants, Mr. Nastase?" My father shook his head.

"Enlighten me." Father's tone was sarcastic, but Titus ignored it.

"They pick any man off the street. They don't care what they were trained to be, they don't care what they used to do in their home country, none of that means a thing. And the minute something happens to them, they replace them like a no good animal. And they're paid like animals too. An immigrant's only hope to make anything of himself in that country is to join the mob with a bunch of snotty Italians, sleep with a big shot in the city and hope they like you enough to let your husband get ahead, or have angels flying out of their ass." My father widened his eyes a little.

"My, my. I never thought of it that way. But you must admit, America's a safer country to be in. Europe's been on the brink of war for years." Titus nodded.

"True. But when Europe finally does declare war against one another, I can promise you that America will get involved. They won't want to, but the fact of the matter is the American government is practically in capable of keeping out of other countries' business." My father laughed at that.

"I've never heard someone speak so ill of America. I assume you've been there?" I looked at Titus then. If he ever had been in America, he never told me about it. Titus nodded.

"Yes, actually, I have been there. And as I said, the only reason anyone was respectful to me was because they knew I was rich." My father shrugged.

"Well problem solved right there." I looked at father.

"Father, if Titus doesn't want to move to America, there isn't any changing his mind." Father held up his hand to me, asking me to stay quiet. Titus defended me.

"She's right, Beryx. One visit was enough for me to know I never want to live there." Father shrugged and, thankfully, ended the conversation there. Mother eagerly babbled on to Titus asking him things about the estate and his father.

Titus answered every question with a lie, but the way he said everything, it all seemed so real. He even made it easy for me to lie about it. Then someone mentioned that it was almost midnight and everyone looked at the large grandfather clock my mother had in the room. Titus was the one to start the countdown. He whispered the numbers in my ear and I repeated them, inevitably making everyone repeat after me. Then at midnight to the second, we all yelled happy New Year and clanked glasses together in toasts. Then Titus started singing in my ear so that only I could hear him. It was a pretty song, but I'd never heard it before.

"What song is that?" Titus stopped and kissed my ear.

"It's a Scottish song I believe. Traditionally sang for New Years. It's called Auld Lang Syne. Partly in English and Gaelic."

"I've never heard it before." I heard Titus smile and he kissed my ear once more.

"Now you have." Then he started singing the song to me again. He even sang it with an odd little accent that wasn't his usual Latin accent. He made it sound Scottish. By the time he sang the last verse, I was mumbling with him to the chorus of the song.

No one interrupted us seeing as they were occupied with their own party guest. When Titus finished the song, he kissed my neck, which made me blush. My mother used to tell me that kissing in public was highly unladylike. But even with my mother there, I didn't feel bad about it at all. I figured it could be punishment for flirting, whether on purpose or not, with my husband all night.

Later in the night when everyone started leaving to go home, mother tried to insist that we spend the night. I didn't want to, but I wasn't sure how to say no. Titus noticed I didn't really want to and saved the day by telling mother that we had a private home near Transylvania and were staying there. Mother reluctantly drop the matter and made us promise to come visit again while we were in Transylvania. Titus simply nodded his head and took my hand and pulled me with him to the gate where our carriage was. I hugged Bram and Valcan goodbye before Titus helped me up into the carriage and got in after me. The carriage went at a normal speed for a few minutes, then dashed to an impossibly faster speed and got us back to the castle in seconds. Titus helped me out of the carriage, but when he did, his expression looked annoyed and concerned and he wasn't really looking at me. He was looking more the right towards the trees.

"Is something wrong, Titus?" Titus brought his attention back to me.

"Nothing, my love. Aquilius will take you upstairs. I'll be there in a minute."

"Alright. I'll be upstairs." Titus smiled at me and gave me a quick kiss before Aquilius gently pulled at the hem of my dress to get my attention and I started following after him.

**TPOV**

I could smell a familiar scent in the distance. I'd noticed it when we'd left. I sent all the dogs and other animals inside and went to find Vladimir and Stefan. They only visited him when they needed something, so he was hoping this little meeting would be brief. It was bad enough he would have to explain Nicoleta to them without having to spend hours helping them come up with a plot to destroy the Volturi only to have it blow up in their faces because they thought they came up with a better idea and it only screwed everything up. I'd grown so used to it over the centuries that I didn't even really care anymore. I just gave them the best possible plan and they come back explaining to me how they screwed it up.

I looked through the woods until I saw them. It didn't take long to find them. Stefan was the only vampire I'd ever met that smelled of peppermint and cigars. Vladimir actually smelled like vodka and tobacco. It was such a strange smell for a vampire to have. It was a smell that a human would normally have. The only indication they had that they were in fact vampires was the fact that they didn't have a smell of blood to them the way humans did. And their scents were more like a perfume. Vladimir and Stefan both had wicked smiles on their faces while I was walking to them. When I was close enough, I was the first one to speak.

"What is it?" Stefan shrugged.

"What is it ever?" Vladimir spoke next.

"And I never knew you had a mate."

"That's not important. I'm assuming you want my help again." Vladimir nodded.

"We were hoping you'd give us a strategy that actually worked for once."

"My strategies are all flawless and to the letter. They're able to take down the Volturi without even setting a finger on them. You're problem is that you try to make it more flashy than it needs to be and screw it up." They both laughed a little.

"What can we say, Titus, we prefer to be more flashy." I nodded at Stefan's comment.

"And that's why you always fail." They laughed a little again without humor. "Alright, come in. I have something I think you can use." Vladimir asked questions as we walked at a fast pace to the library. We were there before I even got a chance to answer the question.

"What is it if you don't mind my asking?"

"It's a little experiment of mine. I've spent centuries changing bats and dogs and rats to do my bidding. But then I wondered what benefit I'd get if I had a servant that could actually talk." They looked intrigued.

"You have our attention." They both said in unison. Half the time, I wondered if those two were lovers. I knew better, seeing as they were both straight as arrows, but I couldn't help but wonder from time to time.

"Obviously, this wouldn't work if I changed a human. A human becomes a vampire and after that, they're their own person and can't be controlled. But not the case for, let's say, a bird."

"A bird?" Vladimir asked while lifting his left brow.

"Yes. A cockatoo to be specific."

"You want to give us a pesky bird to help us beat the Volturi?" I shook my head at Stefan's condescending remark.

"No. I'm offering you a spy. A bird blends into the scenery and no one will think anything of it. It can perch wherever you tell it and retrieve information for you."

"How does that help us beat the Volturi?"

"By telling you what it knows. If this bird hears about any weakness of any kind, it will tell you. And with that knowledge, you can devise your own plan to destroy them that you will enjoy and that will entice your apparent need to overdo things. In other words, come up with your own plans." They both laughed again. Stefan was the one to speak.

"So where is this glorious spy that you speak of?" I smiled at them then made a whistling sound. Not even a second after I'd made that sound, a bird flew into the library and perched on the arm of my chair.

"This is Avis."Vladimir chuckled.

"How creative. Naming a bird the Latin word bird." I ignored his snide remark and kept going.

"He blends in, remembers what he hears, and repeats it to you when you tell him to." I looked at Avis. "What were the dogs doing today?" Avis answered me almost like he was singing a song.

"They were keeping guard." There were a few chirps in his sentence, but it was far from hard to understand.

"So what do you think? I know you didn't want a dog, but perhaps something like this is more your taste." Vladimir and Stefan looked at the bird for a moment thinking about what they could use it for. I waited patiently for their answer. I finally received my answer when Stefan grinned and looked at Vladimir.

"Imagine what secret weaknesses the Volturi could have." Vladimir grinned and nodded.

"Imagine indeed. So this bird can tell us what they're hiding and anything we might be able to use against them?" I nodded.

"Everything you want to know. All you need to do is ask." I looked back at the bird. "Avis." The bird looked at me, already standing at full attention. "Make your way to Volterra and see what you can find out about the Volturi for Vladimir and Stefan. Come to them when you hear either whistle. They are your masters, now. You follow their orders and their orders alone." The bird nodded and flew out the open window of the library and into the night.

"So it's off to Volterra is it?" I nodded.

"Yes. But you won't need to be in Volterra for the bird to hear you whistle. As long as you're in or around the Tuscany area, but bird will hear you."

"But so will Demetri. He'll hear our tenor."

"Yes, but he's not going to sound the alarm just because you two are close by. You've screwed up in killing them so many times that your presence is almost theatrical to them."

"I think the theatrics lie more in how our methods are chosen." I shook my head at Vladimir's comment.

"Most certainly not. The Volturi have no idea I exist and I want to keep it that way. I don't need to have met them to know that if they ever found out about me, that they would either kill me on sight or demand I join them."

"Maybe you should accept such an invitation. You could be our inside man." Stefan suggested with a smirk.

"You realize of course that Aro would know that from what he heard in my memories." They both chuckled and left it at that. I thought we were done, but then Stefan brought something up.

"So, Titus. When were you planning on telling us you had a new mate?" I looked at them both a little defensively.

"I never told you because it's not your business."

"Don't be that way, Titus. We've all been friends for centuries. We were your first true friends since you became a vampire. We're the ones that helped you get used to this world."

"More like you both hated me until you realized I was a genius, but no matter. Please keep going." They both smiled and Vladimir continued.

"Please do introduce us, Titus. Any woman that can make you feel anything, let alone love, is well worth the introduction."

"I'd rather not."

"Because she's human?" I looked at them accusingly.

"You two don't seem very surprised that I'm married to a human." Their eyes did widen then.

"Married?" Stefan said.

"Why bother?"

"And why keep her human for that matter? Unless you don't mind only having her for about sixty years." Stefan huffed a laugh.

"If he's lucky. Not to mention humans get old. And I've yet to see an elderly human that was enticing." I hissed at them and they stayed quiet. Then I took a deep breath.

"I won't do that to her. I don't want her to be a monster. She doesn't deserve that."

"So she doesn't deserve to be with you for eternity? How gracious of you." I hissed again.

"You're twisting my words, Stefan. I'd stop while you were ahead." They stayed silent and I went on with the previous subject. "Like I said, if you want to call it, just whistle and as long as you're near Tuscany, it will hear you."

"You already explained that."

"Please do privilege us with your wife's presence. I would love to meet the woman that melted you."

"I'd rather not." Stefan smirked.

"Well, I do believe I hear her footsteps coming this way." I hissed again. "Calm down, Titus. We merely wish to meet her. You know we won't tell anyone about this."

"That's not the point, Stefan." Vladimir spoke next.

"We wouldn't dream of attacking her if that's what you fear. Hell, we'd never be able to get to her with you and those damn animals of your protecting her."

"That's still not the point."

"What is the point, then?"

"The point is that I don't want her to meet you both." They both shrugged and Vladimir was the one to talk.

"What's wrong with us?"

"I'd rather not say out loud." They both chuckled a little and smiled in another direction. I turned already knowing it was Nicoleta. Despite my aggravation with the situation, I smiled at her and she smiled back at me. Aquilius stayed at her side, protective and on guard. "Is everything alright, my love?" She shook her head.

"You were taking little longer than I thought you would. I'll go back upstairs if you want." Stefan interrupted me before I could speak.

"Not a thing, milady, not a thing. Please come in." She looked at Stefan a moment while he spoke, then looked at me to ask permission. Reluctantly, I nodded my head. She smiled shyly and walked over to me. When she was close, she took a hold of my hand in both hers and stayed close to me.

"Are you Vladimir and Stefan?" They smiled and nodded.

"Yes, that's us. I'm Stefan, and this is my good friend Vladimir." Vladimir smiled and nodded respectfully. Then he spoke.

"You must be Titus' wife." Nicoleta nodded. "Forgive me, but we haven't gotten your name."

"Nicoleta." They both smiled at her.

"Lovely." Nicoleta smiled respectfully. Then Vladimir and Stefan looked at me, both smiling, and Vladimir spoke.

"She's a beauty, Titus, I will say that." Then Stefan spoke.

"She is. I'm hurt you would hide her from us." I hissed at them again. They both backed away and Nicoleta clutched onto me out of reflex. "I meant that it was a pleasure to meet her. Calm down Titus." Nicoleta started rubbing my hand in an effort to calm me. For her sake, I stopped and stood straight again.

"Thanks for the bird, Titus. We look forward to seeing the benefits of its talent." Vladimir then looked back at Nicoleta. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Nicoleta. We hope to see you again soon."

Nicoleta's smile remained polite as they walked out of the library and out of the castle through one of the windows. I turned to look at Nicoleta and kissed her head and hugged her. She hugged me back and rested her head on my chest. I rocked her body with mine back and forth for a minute, not sure why I was doing it. Then she kissed my chest and looked up at me. I looked at her and smiled.

"I'm sorry if I bothered you. I missed you was all." I smiled and kissed her forehead.

"It's alright. But I better get you to bed. It's almost three in the morning, my love." She giggled a little and cuddled into my chest again.

"I know. But I always have a hard time sleeping when you're not there. Especially in the summer." I chuckled.

"Good thing it's winter then." She smiled and nodded her head.

"You're right, I think." We laughed together for a moment and simply held each other. After a while, I brought her into my arms and carried her up the stairs to our room and placed her in bed. She fell asleep within minutes. I held her in my arms and let her snuggle against my chest while Aquilius and the three Pomeranians stayed at the end of the bed.

Nicoleta slept until well into the afternoon. When she started to stir, I took her down to the kitchen and started making her a crepe. I added cherries when she asked if we had any. She ate her food in piece while I told her that if we ever see her parents again that I refused to force down another glass of her father's whiskey. She only giggled and kept eating her crepe. When she was done, I took her to the library and played the piano for her while she read. The book she was reading was short, so she finished it relatively quickly. When she was done, she asked me what happened last night. I told her I gave them a talking bird and left it at that. Thankfully, she didn't badger me for any more details.

Thankfully, Vladimir and Stefan didn't come back after that. I was hoping it would be another few years before the next time they came charging down my door asking for my help. They'd asked me to join their coven many times, but I always declined. I liked those two as friends, but I could never tolerate living with them. I'd end up killing them just because I would get sick of them talking in unison. Maybe they were brothers. I didn't know, and I really didn't care.

**Spring 1893, Village of Transylvania**

It was early in the morning. Valcan's wife was making him and Bram some breakfast after getting off the nightly watch shift. She was making them eggs from the chickens she'd snatched them from this morning and some pork she'd made from the pig she'd slaughtered a few days ago. There hadn't been any further attacks on the village since New Years, but there was still something troubling him. When he'd seen Nicoleta and her new husband, he looked so familiar. He'd felt like he'd seen him somewhere before. He tried to forget about it, but whenever he visited Olivia and Beryx, he would see Nicoleta's wedding picture and see Titus. And every time, he felt like he'd seen him before. And it had been angering him for months now.

Last night, while he was looking out, he kept looking at the castle and having an odd feeling. He actually saw lights coming from the castle now. He'd never seen that before. The monster had always lived in darkness. But for the past six or seven years, those lights had been on. Valcan had sent men to investigate before, but needless to say, they never saw them again. And after New Years, every time he looked at Dracula's castle, he had a nagging feeling in his gut that something was terribly wrong. Whenever Valcan told his wife, she always said the years of watching were simply getting to him.

Valcan and Bram ate their breakfast in silence, both far too tired to really talk. Bram was such a sweet, innocent boy, so he never thought anything wrong with Nicoleta's new husband. If he thought anything bad about him, it was that he suspected he was one of those men that got everything they wanted because they were rich and beautiful and Nicoleta wasn't really in love, but infatuated with beauty, but that thought didn't last long. Bram didn't like thinking badly of people.

And for some reason, on that morning, Valcan was remembering random things. He remembered when he'd shacked Titus' hand. It had been a firm grip. Much too firm. He hadn't thought anything about the cold since he was wearing gloves, but now, that little detail was all that was on his mind. And when Titus had looked towards his sister's house, he could swear he saw his eyes shining in an unnatural manner. And he was perfect. That was another thing that bugged him. He was far, far too perfect. No blemishes, no dark spots, no freckles or any other kind of sun damage, he'd seen the man stand perfectly still for a good twenty five minutes while at the party when he'd came in for something to eat again. And he'd looked very uncomfortable the whole time. Like he was being tortured with food or something.

And he had no wrinkles. If he really was thirty six by now, then he should at least have one or two lines. But he had nothing. He looked like he could be thirty, but he was a very beautiful thirty year old that was blessed with excellent skin. And Olivia told Valcan all about the murdered wife and how no one knew who did it and why. That didn't sit well with him at all. There was no way they wouldn't at least have a suspect for such a thing. And there was certainly no way a man, whether he loved his wife or not, could explain something like that with a straight face as if he were explaining how to make an apple pie. Something about that man simply didn't sit right with Valcan. And he had no problem telling everyone he felt that way. Olivia, of course, thought he was nuts. The woman could never sneer at a pretty face.

Then, suddenly, Valcan came to a little conclusion. When they'd first lost Nicoleta, they'd thought she'd been taken by Dracula, just like all the others, only to receive a letter saying she was in Serbia. But ever since Nicoleta had gone missing, that's when Valcan started noticing the lights in the castle. And that carriage she'd come to the village it had been extremely odd. He could have sworn those horses all had red eyes that looked evil as all sin. And the steel carriage had just put another notch in his headboard of reasons that Titus freaked him out. Worst of all, when he'd tried to talk to the driver, he hadn't responded at all. Not even a groan of acknowledgement. His eyes had been closed, so he assumed the man was asleep. But now that he thought about it, the man had looked like he was in pain and miles away. And then another thought came to mind. When Olivia did send letters to Nicoleta, they were never there the morning after she put them in the post office. And then, not even a week later, she would get a response. Of course, Olivia thought nothing of it, but Valcan certainly didn't. And now that he thought about it, Titus' skin had looked a tad pasty despite his olive tone. And his brown eyes looked oddly burgundy-ish. And he'd never eaten a thing the whole time he was there. He'd drank some of Beryx' whiskey, but that was surely out of politeness. No one liked Beryx whiskey except for Beryx. No one understood why he liked his whiskey to be so damn strong. Valcan's eyes started to widen as all those little pieces in his head started fitting together and making perfect sense to him. Now, he suddenly remembered Titus' face when he was coming out of a window. He'd been but a four year old boy, hence why he couldn't remember until this very moment. That was the night he'd kidnapped Carolina Norbues, forty five years! Valcan slammed his closed fist on the table and looked forward in furry. His wife and Bram stood up from fear and started asking him what was wrong when they'd calmed down.

"Honey, what's the matter?"

"That monster."

"What? Valcan, what are you talking about?"

"That beast! He took Nicoleta! He has her under a spell, he must!"

"Valcan, what are you talking about?!" Valcan got up and pointed in the general direction of Dracula's castle.

"I'm talking about that monster Dracula taking my niece and forcing her to be his bride against her will. I should have known. I can't believe I didn't see it before. The lights in the castle, his hard cold skin, that pasty look to him, that odd red I saw in his eyes, the discomfort from being around so many people, everything. It all makes sense. Leanne, don't you see?" Leanne sighed.

"Valcan, I think you need to get some sleep. You've been up all hours of the night and you're tired. Go to bed and we'll talk about this when you're awake." Valcan shook his head.

"No, Leanne. I know it. That man, Titus, he's Dracula. I swear he is. I know he is! And he's taken Nicoleta. But she's still alive. We can save her and bring her back home. Think of how happy she'll be to be out of the Devil's grasp again, Leanne."

"Valcan, get some sleep. If you still feel this way when you've had some sleep, then we'll talk this over." Valcan shook his head again.

"No. We don't have time. If anything, I need some men to get some sleep tonight. We're getting her. Nicoleta is still human. She's warm and soft and human and still innocent and safe from the Devil's evil curse. And we can cure her of her sins once we get her home." Valcan looked at Bram. "Bram."

"Yes, dad?"

"Go to our ten best men's homes. Tell them to sleep today and tonight. We attack the castle at dawn when the monster is weak and defenseless. Bring plenty of garlic and crosses and get as much holy water as you can. And I need a wooden stake. I plan on killing this beast before coming home." Bram nodded his head urgently and ran out of the house to go tell everyone what was happening.

"Valcan, please think about this after you've slept. You can't possibly think that Dracula would let Nicoleta live if he'd taken her. And you certainly can't blame Titus for everything simply because you don't like him. You only met the man once."

"I've seen him before, and not in the pictures or that New Years! I've seen him jumping out of a window in the night. I know it. I know he's Dracula!"

"Valcan, if that were the case, why would he come here with Nicoleta?"

"To show off his power, perhaps. I don't know Leanne, but I know he's Dracula! And I won't rest until I get Nicoleta out of his clutches and back home safe and sound, and that monster is burning with the Devil in the fiery pits of Hell where he belongs!" Valcan ran upstairs and got a few things ready. Leanne tried to calm him, but nothing she did or said changed her mind.

Bram went straight to be when he got home, but not before packing all the vials of holy water and the stakes and crosses and garlic so it would be ready for tomorrow morning. Leanne told Olivia, who tried to talk some sense into Valcan, but with no success. Within minutes, everyone in the village knew what Valcan was planning. Some were shocked that something like this could happen and that it needed to be taken care of as soon as possible. Others thought they were suffering from lack of sleep and it was poorly effecting their judgment. But no matter the opinion, most stayed quiet and didn't bother the men that would be venturing to Dracula's castle. Their wives tried desperately to convince them not to go while they were still awake. But none of them agreed. A priest walked back and forth to all their houses that day repeating prayer after prayer for the men that would be going on this most dangerous journey.

**TPOV**

It was late in the night. Nicoleta was cuddling close to me, not wanting to sleep. She was still nuzzling and kissing my neck, though we'd both come down from our high minutes ago. But I let her. I enjoyed it anyway. I loved getting her affection, knowing she loved me even after everything I'd ever done. Her dogs were at the end of the bed just watching us. I used to be bothered by that, but I didn't care anymore. I figured if people of my time could have sex with their slaves watching and fanning them, I could tolerate a few dogs. Her hands were running over my chest scratching at my skin and making me smile.

"Are you not tired, my love?" She shook her head.

"Not in the least, Titus." I chuckled and kissed her forehead.

"You will be, my love." She shook her head again, all the while nuzzling my chest. I smiled and tightened my grip on her slightly.

She kept kissing my chest and my neck for several minutes, not even caring about how cold I was. She brought herself atop me and started kissing me again. I didn't stop her. I let my hands travel along her back. Her hands went from my chest, up my neck, and into my hair where she pulled at the strands. I hardly felt it when she pulled on my hair. She kept kissing my face and I kissed and sucked on her ear, eventually rolling us over so I was above her. She smiled at me and sighed contentedly with every feeling I made her feel. She clutched to me the whole time, whimpering with every movement. I felt her clutch around me and tighten her grip impossibly more, then, after a minute, she lost her grip completely. I chuckled when I realized she'd fallen asleep.

I kissed her cheek and got dress. When I was dressed, I kept her wrapped in the blanket and held her close to me as she slept. I listened to her breathing and started humming a lullaby to her, simply because I wanted to. I did that until I saw the first light that human eyes couldn't see coming onto the horizon. I looked at her and smiled at her peaceful, contented face. I caressed her face and kissed her forehead, and she smiled wider in her sleep. I started kissing her lips and waking her up. She started to kiss me back and ran her fingers through my hair. I started kissing her jaw and neck and licked her ear when I got there.

"Morning, Nicoleta." She smiled and giggled.

"Morning. You're waking me up early." I smiled licked her ear again.

"I'm sorry, my love. Did you want to get some more sleep?" She shook her head.

"It's alright."

"Would you like breakfast?" She shook her head.

"Not now. In a minute." Then Nicoleta hugged me close and cuddled her face into my chest. I held her close to me and brushed my fingers through her hair. As I held her, I started hearing an odd noise in the distance. It sounded like multiple footsteps. And they were coming closer. I started listening to it, but didn't let it interfere with Nicoleta. But then, one of my bats came it and flew around us to get my attention. "What's wrong?"

I got up from the bed and was instantly at the French doors looking out towards the village. They were still two and a half miles away from the castle, but I could already see what the problem was. I rubbed my face, trying to think what could have caused this reaction from them. He hadn't attacked them in years and he was keeping to himself. Nicoleta got up from the bed and put on her robe before walking to me. When she was close enough, she looked in the direction I was looking and rested her head against my arm. She couldn't see what was happening, so she looked at me and asked.

"What's wrong?" I sighed.

"Valcan and some of his men are coming here. They look armed, but there're only twelve of them. I can only assume they think I'm asleep." Nicoleta clutched onto my arm tighter and stared wide eyed at me.

"What are we going to do?" I heard the terror in her voice. It was more than I could tolerate. I looked at her and held onto her so that she was looking at me. I knew what I was going to do. The problem was that I knew she wouldn't like it.

"Nicoleta, listen to me very carefully, okay." She nodded. "I can't let them leave alive. If I do, then they'll only come back with more. And if that keeps up, it'll draw more attention to me than what's already been done over the past four hundred years." Her eyes widened more and she looked like she was terrified. I tried stroking her hair, but she actually started shaking subtly.

"No."

"I have to."

"Please no. Let me talk to them, Titus. I promise, I'll make them go away, just please don't kill Valcan and Bram. Please." She was almost to tears. Stroking her hair wasn't doing anything, but I was still doing it.

"I can't Nicoleta, you know I can't." She looked out towards the village and was still shaking. I brought my hand to her face and made her look at me. "I'm sorry, but I can't."

"You're not sorry! You know you're not!"

"Nicoleta!" She stayed quiet and looked at me. She was crying now and it broke my heart. "I am sorry. I'm sorry that I'm hurting you. But I really can't let them go. They'll keep coming back and with more. And if they never kill me, the Volturi will when they find out." She grabbed onto my face then, looking into my eyes. I looked at her too. My eyes weren't pleading, but begging. After looking at me for several seconds that felt like hours, she took a deep breath and looked at my chest.

"Please spare Valcan and Bram. At least Bram. He's an innocent boy, he doesn't deserve to die. Please tell me you'll at least spare Bram." I looked at her pleading eyes and needed to say no. But I simply couldn't. Instead, I did the only thing I could do. Try my best to make her happy.

"I'll try. If they believe me and go willingly, then I'll spare them. But otherwise I can't. I will try, though. I promise." She tried to smile, but she wasn't succeeding. I kissed her, hoping to make her feel a little bit better. When the kiss ended, I rested my forehead against hers. "I promise." She nodded.

"At least spear Bram." I nodded and kissed her cheek one last time before running out of the room and down to the doors they would be heading for. Then I decided I didn't want them anywhere near the castle. It simply wasn't worth the risk.

I ran out of the castle and to the halfway point between the village and the castle to wait for them. I still had a good fifteen minutes before they would reach the castle. I didn't bring any of my animals. I decided it would be best to do this myself. I waited the estimated fifteen minutes before they finally did reach me. When they were a couple feet away from me, I jumped out of the tree I'd been standing in and stared them down. Valcan had a look of fear in his eyes while everyone else looked shocked. Valcan grabbed at a random vial and threw the contents of the glass at me. I took a deep breath when the water hit me and tried to stay calm. I simply took off my coat and threw it to the side. They looked at me in awe.

"Valcan, why isn't it working?" I sighed and answered for him.

"It's not working because your little wives tales don't do shit against me. Crosses don't burn my skin and neither does holy water. Garlic doesn't ward me off and," I walked to a spot where the sun was peeking through the trees. When I found it, I held my arm in the sun and showed them my shinning skin. They backed away in fear, "sun only makes my skin shine. Hence the reason, real reason, vampires don't come out during the day." Valcan finally made up the courage to be angry again and he spoke with a voice like thunder.

"Where is Nicoleta, Dracula? Where is she?!"

"At the castle. Where else would she be?"

"Don't play games with me, monster. Give back my niece." I simply shook my head.

"No. She's my wife, Valcan. And despite what you simpletons think, I love her. And she loves me too. Far more than I deserve. And if she wishes to leave, then I wouldn't stop her. But I'll walk through Hell and back before I let you take her away from me." My tone became progressively harsher in tone as I spoke. By the end, I was even growling slightly.

"Love?! Ha! What would a monster like you know about love? You steel our women and make meals of them century after century and murder innocent people routinely and you think you know something about love? The Devil's beasts don't feel love. They only wish to cause misery for those around them. That's all you are, Dracula. And that's all you will ever be." I roared then. They all backed away again. I followed. Then I ran around them, seemingly disappearing before their eyes, and spoke again when I was behind them. They turned to face me and started backing away again as I spoke.

"I know what I am, Stigoni. Nothing you could say would be something I don't know. I've lived over 1900 years in solitude, not wanting nor needing anyone or anything. I will not argue that I'm a monster. I will not argue that I have a dead heart that has felt nothing for most of my existence. I won't even argue that I've caused you and your village a great deal of pain and feel no remorse for any of it. But I will not let you tell me that I don't love her. I love Nicoleta more than my own flesh and blood and would do anything for her. She made me feel again, for the first time in centuries, and I will not let you or anyone else take that away from me!"To my surprise, Bram, looking scared and timid as a faun, was the next one to speak.

"Please. Give her back. We won't hunt you again or bother you anymore. All we ask is that you give back Nicoleta." I looked at Bram and suddenly understood just what Nicoleta meant by his innocence. He really didn't deserve to die. Not today. "Nicoleta's one of my best friends and has always been the one I looked up to when I was growing up. And you already took my sister." I interrupted him then.

"I can assure you, Bram, I did no such thing. Your sister was taken by two nomads by the names of Stefan and Vladimir. They took your sister and those other people, not me. I haven't hunted in your village in six years." Bram looked slightly relieved at that news, but Valcan wouldn't let up.

"If you're not hunting us, you're hunting others. You're still a murderer!" The men around Valcan, excluding Bram, were nodding and uttering in agreement. Bram spoke again.

"Let me hear Nicoleta say it." Everyone looked at Bram, Valcan and the mob wanting an explanation.

"Bram, what are you talking about?" Bram ignored Valcan and kept looking at me.

"If I hear from Nicoleta in person that she really is happy and loves you in return, then I'll leave the two of you be. Otherwise, I will fight with my father to get her back." Valcan started yelling.

"Bram, what are you saying?! You can't possibly be okay with this!"

"I'm not. But if Nicoleta's really happy, then I won't get in the way of her happiness." One man in the back spoke next and started walking to the front of the group.

"I don't give a shit what you say. I'm killing this monster now. It's revenge for taking my wife from me ten years ago!" Then that man started running towards me with a wooden stake in his hand. I rolled my eyes at him almost as a reflex. When he was close enough, the stake felt no worse than a gentle poke from a twig. I grabbed a hold of his head and twisted it, breaking his neck and spinal cord, killing him instantly. Everyone backed away again in fear.

"Bram." Bram looked at me when I spoke with terror. "I suggest you leave now. Nicoleta asked me to spear you, and I won't deny her that. So go now and live. But if you come back again or send anyone else after me, I won't be so lenient." He shook his head.

"Not until I know that Nicoleta's really happy and well."

"It doesn't matter!" We all looked at Valcan now. "He clearly has her under a spell!" I started laughing. I simply couldn't help myself. "Your laughter is the best proof, monster! Give her back or we'll shoot you down right here, right now!" I kept laughing and shook my head while trying to keep my eyes on them. Finally, I unbuttoned and took off my shirt. I threw it on the ground with my jacket and held my arms out.

"Do it then. Shoot me down. I dare you to." They all looked at each other hesitantly except Valcan. He took out his gun and aimed.

"Gladly." Then he shot me repeatedly until he ran out of bullets. The smoke from his gun cleared and everyone's eyes widened when they saw me already picking out the bullets and healing as if it'd never happened. I chuckled when the last bullet was picked from my skin. It had hardly even pierced my skin.

"Like I said. You're all defenseless against me. And I'm afraid I don't intend to let any of you live." Then I looked at Bram. "This is your last chance, Bram. Go now and live or I'll have to kill you with everyone else. Don't make me go back on my promise, Bram. I don't like doing that to her." Bram looked offended.

"Sure you do." I hissed at him and he backed away. Valcan took the opportunity and tried throwing holy water at me again. I back away from it and had lost enough of my patience to run at him and snap his spine in half, once again, killing him instantly.

I attacked each man there and killed all of them with a simple snap of their necks. I didn't want to bother with anything else. This method was quick and easy. When Bram was the last one alive, he was backed against a tree trembling with a gun in his hand aimed at me. I walked towards him and dodged the bullets he shot at me. I walked slowly so he would use up all his ammo trying to hit me. When he'd used all his bullets, I took the gun and cracked it and pulled it apart so he could use it anymore. Then I kneeled before him and looked him in the eyes.

"You want to know she's okay?" He didn't respond. I asked again. "Do you want to see her or not?" Bram kept shaking, never answering me. I stood and rolled my eyes again. Then I grabbed his shirt and held him like that and ran back to the castle. We arrived in seconds. When we were below the balcony, I called to Aquilius in Latin and heard him start to lead Nicoleta with him through the halls and down the stairs. When the doors were open and she was outside, she saw Bram and her face lit up with joy and relief.

"Bram, you're okay." She ran to us and hugged Bram tightly, taking him out of his state of panic and partially hugging her back.

"Nicoleta?" She nodded and looked at him to smile.

"Yes, Bram." They looked at each other for several seconds. I stood back and stayed quiet as I watched. Nicoleta spoke again, but her voice sounded sad and guilty. "You're mad at me." Bram didn't shake or nod his head. He just stared at her. When he did speak, Nicoleta was straining to hear him.

"I saw him."

"What?"

"I saw him kill them all. My father's dead. He killed him." Nicoleta's eyes widened with terror, then she looked at me, then back to Bram again.

"I'm sorry Bram." Nicoleta tried to hug him. "Bram, I really am sorry." Bram pushed her and backed away.

"NO! NO, YOU'RE NOT SORRY! If you were sorry, you would have run away from this beast!" Nicoleta shook her head.

"He's not a beast, Bram. And I am sorry. I didn't want for anyone to get hurt."

"That's what they always say, Nicoleta! I'm telling you this man just murdered your uncle before my eyes and you're brushing it off like it's nothing! Is that sorry, Nicoleta?!" Nicoleta tried to approach Bram again, but he backed away.

"Bram, please understand. Please don't go." Bram shook his head and kept backing away.

"No. You're not Nicoleta. That monster took you from us and changed you. Not through magic or Devil's spells. He made you love him, a monster, so much that you pick him over family. The Nicoleta I know and love would never love a man that murdered her family. Never!" With that, Bram turned and ran back into the woods. Nicoleta tried to run after him, but I grabbed her hand and kept her close as she yelled Bram's name.

I held onto her until she was sobbing and feel on the ground on her knees. I stayed still where I was and didn't touch her. It was safe to assume I was the last person she wanted to be around right now. But I stayed close to her and let her cry. I felt like a blade was tearing my heart as I watched her cry. It was a moment that really forced in my face how much of a monster I really was and how much I didn't deserve her love. When she had some control of her tears, she stood up and turned to look at me. I stayed still and let her look, ready to let her hit me, slap me, anything she would possibly want to do to me for letting this happen. She stayed silent for much too long, which scared me. I would rather she scream and yell at me than be dead silent. But after several minutes of just staring at me, she finally spoke, her tone quiet and in pain.

"He hates me, Titus." I shook my head.

"No. He doesn't. It's me he hates, not you." She shook her head.

"No, I know he does. He's right. I've changed. I can't even get mad at you for killing those men, some my own family. I can't even get myself to be mad at you."

"Be mad at me, Nicoleta. I know I deserve it." She shook her head.

"No. There's no point in trying. I can't be mad at you. I love you too much." She was looking at the ground with tears still in her eyes. She looked guilty, and that made me feel worse. I finally couldn't take being separate from her anymore and closed the distance between us and took her into my arms.

"This isn't your fault. It's mine. I'm the selfish beast that won't risk losing you. You shouldn't feel guilty for this." Nicoleta didn't say anything. She stayed quiet and hugged me back and started crying harder again. I carried her back to our room and let her cry. She ended up crying herself to sleep that night, no matter what lullaby I hummed for her. It was painful to see her like this, and even more painful knowing that all of it was my fault.

**Volterra, one month later**

Aro and all the Volturi were in the castle going about their usual business. Caius and Athenadora were bickering about nothing, Aro and Sulpicia were talking about sweet nothings, and Marcus sat on his throne with a face that made him look like a nuclear bomb could hit Italy any day now and he wouldn't care at all. Demetri, Heidi, and Felix were in the corner playing cards together with Demetri being ahead. Then Demetri heard Julia's, their secretary's, tenor getting louder and with another tenor following her on their way to the main room. Demetri stood and looked at Aro.

"Aro, Julia has someone that wants to meet you." Aro nodded and stood from his seat with Sulpicia standing close to him still.

"Thank you, Demetri." Julia didn't know about everyone being vampires. She simply assumed they were strange and did her job. Her husband had left her alone with three children, so she wasn't in a position to be picky for a job. When she reached the main room, she had with her a man with brown hair and pale skin and red eyes.

"Aro, this man says he needs to talk to you and that it's urgent." Aro smiled at Julia.

"Thank you, Julia. I'll take it from here. Go back to the lobby." She nodded her head respectfully and left the room, leaving them to speak privately. All the Volturi, except Marcus, looked at the vampire with interest. "First, before we talk, please tell me your name, good friend."

"Alfonse, sir. I'm a nomad from Romania." Aro chuckled.

"I can tell. I'd know a Romanian accent anywhere." Aro walked closer to Alfonse and was about to take his hand. "It will be faster if I simply read your mind, Alfonse. Just stay still and let me hear your thoughts."

Alfonse nodded his head respectfully and let Aro take his hand and hear his thoughts. As Aro listened, he started to grin in humor. A few things made him look like he was annoyed, but then it would go right back to amused again. When he was done, Aro let go of Alfonse and started walking back towards his throne.

"Thank you for your information, Alfonse. I greatly appreciate it. You may go now. Allow me and the others to talk and decide the best course of action." Alfonse bowed his head then left the main room and out to the streets from where he came. It was the middle of the night, so the sun wasn't an issue.

Aro smiled to himself at the turn of events. Caius was barking at him, trying to get his attention, but Aro held up his hand to silence him so he could think. What was going on in Romania was quite unacceptable. A vampire making himself known so easily and having a human bride and half breed children was simply deplorable. But what had Aro grinning was that he remembered Titus Valerius. He was, after all, the one that changed him. Sulpicia stayed quiet as she watched Aro. The others stayed quiet to, while Caius was fuming with anticipation. Finally, the silence was started to bother him and he forced Aro out of his giddy little wonderland.

"ARO!" Aro looked over at Caius with a straight face.

"Caius, my friend, there's no need to yell."

"There is when you're not telling us what's wrong. We can't collaborate unless we all know what the problem is, now can we?" Even Caius' bickering didn't spoil Aro's mood. He smiled and looked ahead.

"There's trouble in Romania. A vampire called Titus Valerius has been murdering humans in a village near Dracula's castle for four hundred years."

"So? What's so strange about that?" Aro smiled more.

"Have I ever told all of you about Titus Valerius?" No one responded. Are knew he never had, so he went on with the story.

"I was the one who attacked him. I heard his thoughts on the street one night when I was passing him. Quite a morbid story I must say."

"It doesn't matter, Aro. We need to kill him and stop those people in Transylvania from telling people there's a vampire in the area." Aro held up his hand again.

"You might want to hear this, Caius. There is a point, I promise." Caius looked reluctant, but he stayed quiet and let Aro talk. "As I said, I passed this man before on the streets of Rome and heard his thoughts. This was a few days before they assassinated Cesar. As it turns out, the man was a monster long before I changed him. He was born into a brothel, his mother one of the whores there and his father a costumer named Titan Valero that they never saw again.

"Titus was abused for most of his life. The Brothel owner didn't like him, so she would beat him, and Titus would have to stay in the rooms with his mother, even when she had a costumer." Everyone shivered a little. No human would notice it, but they all shivered. "Yes, it's unfortunate, indeed. After several years, the boy had been so badly abused and exposed to so many horrors, that he became apathetic and emotionally detached. The boy was, in all forms of the word, a mental screw up.

"But he was a genius. No one ever noticed it, but he was. He taught himself how to read and right, he taught himself how to read music with no help from instructors or anyone in the brothel, he was a master craftsman all on his own, a scientist that loved to experiment, and a million other things. He even came up with a little drug that the brothel women called Floaty Juice. She would sell it to the costumers and they would have passionate hallucinations during sex. She made a fortune off Titus' little drug. He's a craftsman, a biochemist, a composer, architect, a physicist, a genius my friends. And he was a genius long before he was immortal.

"But one night, one of his mother's clients got a little too excited and he ended up murdering his mother by strangling her to death. Titus didn't even flinch when he watched that man kill his mother. By then, the boy was practically a zombie to those around him. That same man tried to have his way with him, but Titus beat him to death with a large piece of wood that was in the room. Then he threw his body out the window into the back ally and no one ever saw that man again.

"After his mother's death, the brothel owner decided to make Titus take her place. Needless to say, Titus murdered his first costumer and escaped from the brothel. Luckily for him, he had a friend by the name of Evander. He was fourteen years his senior and his father had been a frequent costumer of the brothel, so Titus thought it best to go to him. Evander welcomed him and helped Titus get a job in the meat market of Rome. A few years later, Evander's sister, Perseia took a liking to him. Evander asked if he would like to marry her, and Titus agreed, but with hardly more than a shrug and a slight grunt." Aro laughed a little.

"Who cares. He's disobeyed the laws. Why is this funny to you?"

"Because, Caius, I'd changed Titus hoping to make him join the coven. He would have been an asset to our coven. He's a master strategist, among other, very important things. But he was gone before I came back for him and I was never able to find him again after that. Now I know where he is. And I think we could have a new member of the Volturi Guard." Caius thought about Aro's hopeful words and started getting hopeful himself. If this man really was as strong as Aro said, he would benefit them greatly with brain and bronze.

"It sounds like a dream, Aro. When do we leave and with whom?" Then Marcus grabbed Aro's hand for a moment, then took it away. Aro looked at Marcus and rolled his eyes a little.

"Once again, Marcus, you worry too much. I think, with Chelsea on our side, he'll be so grateful to be spared that he'll never dream of turning on us." Aro did start rubbing his chin, then. "Of course, there is the problem of his close relationship with Vladimir and Stefan." Caius eyes widened.

"He's befriended those buffoons?" Aro shrugged.

"No matter. I'm sure it's nothing we'll have to worry about." Aro stood from his throne and all stood with him. He started pointing at the names he called. "Demetri, Felix, Heidi, Chelsea, Alec, and Renata, you all come with me. The rest of you stay here and protect the wives and the castle." Those staying nodded and Aro kissed Sulpicia goodbye before he left the castle with his soldiers at his side, ready and going to Transylvania.

**TPOV**

Even now, Nicoleta was upset about what had happened a month ago. We hadn't been attacked again, but she still felt uncomfortable. She'd been silent for most of that month, and I couldn't stand it. But I never bothered her or tried to force her to talk to me. I wasn't sure I would like it when she did finally speak to me, but I was willing to listen to any bad news to hear her say something to me. I hadn't even seen her smile the whole month. She would pet the dogs and listen to me play piano, but she wasn't smiling. At the end of a month, I couldn't take it anymore. When we were in the library, I stopped playing the piano and walked to the couch she was laying on and started caressing her face. She brought her hand to mine, but didn't stop me.

"I don't like not talking, Nicoleta."

"I know. I'm sorry." I sighed and kissed her forehead. Then we looked at each other for a few minutes.

"None of it is your fault. It's mine. I understand if you're angry with me, I would be too. But you have no reason to feel guilty." She shook her head.

"I miss them is all. I feel like I betrayed them." I stayed quiet a moment to wait for more, but she didn't say more. So I shook my head.

"I was the betrayer. I should have taken you out of Transylvania for good. No one would ever have attacked us then." She shook her head.

"Where would we have gone?" I smiled a little, hoping to lighten the mood.

"I hear there's a lovely palace in Versailles the French aren't using." She finally laughed then. It was a small laugh, but a laugh nonetheless. It made me feel much better to see her laugh.

"One time, one of my friends told me that palace was haunted by the Royals that were executed." I shrugged.

"I'll keep the ghosts away." She smiled a little more and I kissed her forehead. "Are you still mad at me?" She shook her head.

"I was never mad at you to begin with." I smiled and kissed her for the first time in a month. When the kiss was over, I was running my fingers through her hair and resting my forehead on hers. Then she asked an unexpected question. "Titus?"

"Yes, my love?" She was quiet a moment, nervous about her question. I looked at her and waited for her to ask. When she did, her voice was a little shaky.

"There's something that I thought about a while back. It's been bothering me ever since."

"What is it, Nicoleta?" She took a deep breath again and kissed me before speaking again.

"I'm mortal." My eyes widened and I felt myself start to shake, but it was subtle enough that she didn't notice. "And I don't want to be human knowing that you and I won't be growing old together."

"No." She looked at me with wide eyes.

"You don't even know what I'm asking."

"I do know what you're asking. And my answer is no. I won't make you what I am. It's not a fairy tale life, my love. It's dismal and solitary and heartbreaking. I won't do that to you."

"But Titus.." I interrupted her, but my voice was loud. I was yelling at her.

"I said no, Nicoleta! I won't change you into what I am! I love you human, Nicoleta, and I won't change a thing about you!"

"So it doesn't bother you that I'll die within the next forty or fifty years?"

"That's not what I said, Nicoleta. It does bother. It's bothered me since the moment you said you love me. And I know that when I lose you, I really will have lost everything."

"Then change me, Titus, and never worry about losing me again." I kept my face stern. I stood from the couch where she was sitting and was tall above her. She stood to and didn't let me stare her down. She rested her hands on my chest and started trying to beg me with her eyes. Even then, I shook my head.

"No, Nicoleta. That's the end of it." She tried to talk more, but I left the library and went to the gardens and walked around. I didn't care that the sun was shining off my skin. If anyone came along, I was in such a mood that killing them would almost be a mindless action for him.

I stayed in the gardens all day and for most of the night. I looked towards the castle and saw the light from her window before she turned it off and went to bed. Around one in the morning, I finally ran to her room and to her side. I took her into my arms while she slept and held her close to me. She muttered my name in her sleep. It was a sad sound and it made me feel sick. But I swore I wouldn't budge. I wouldn't change her into what I was. Never. She stayed asleep through the night and I watched her sleep peacefully. Near the early morning, I heard one of my bats come to me. I hadn't heard any footsteps from the village, so I already knew they weren't going to attack. I left Nicoleta's side and followed the bat to a piece of paper and a fountain pen and he started writing out the problem. My already dead heart skipped a beat when I read the message.

_The Volturi are three days away._

The Volturi. They were coming here. That meant they were planning to kill him. I was more worried about Nicoleta. I looked straight at her and looked at her sleeping face, completely unaware of what was happening. She would never be able to fight them off. If I planned everything right, I might actually be able to fight them, but Nicoleta didn't have a prayer. The bat had wrote three days. I had time to get her out of Romania and far away and time to plan a good strategy. Now I just had to figure out where to send her. I wouldn't send her to America. For starters, that was too obvious a choice. And I wouldn't send her to a people that would chew her up and spit her out. The thought came to my mind to send her to Argentina. A lot of immigrants were going to Argentina and finding good opportunity. I could meet her there, assuming I escaped the Volturi alive.

I walked over to the bed and took her back into my arms. I tried with all my might not to wake her up. I would let her get some sleep. She would need it. As it was, I planned on sending her to the train station and put her on the next train to France. They would have a boat that would get her to Argentina. I could swim there in half the time and be with her soon. But somehow, I knew that plan wouldn't work. I knew, deep down, if I sent her away, I would never see her again. With any luck, I might be able to kill a few before they managed to kill me. But they would kill me, and I knew it. Killing the Volturi wasn't something I could do with brute force alone. Their gifts were too much, especially if Jane and Alec came along. Those were powers I knew I couldn't fight.

When it was finally morning and the sun was up, Nicoleta started to wake. The moment she was stirring, I kissed her. She was shocked at first, but she didn't say anything and simply let me kiss her. I kissed her everyone and sucked everywhere, not letting a single part of her go unloved. Nicoleta was a little confused as to my sudden affection, but she didn't argue or complain. She simply let me do what I was doing and moaned when she enjoyed it. When I was finally inside her, I moved relentlessly. Much faster than I'd ever gone. She reached her high long before me. And I kept going, no matter what. She'd flown into the sky more times than even I had counted and when I was finally spent, she was but a panting woman limp beneath me and clutching onto me.

She was about to speak, but I started again. I knew I would never see her again. I wanted to love her a last time before I had to say goodbye to her. She didn't argue, only went with me in my movement. It lasted for a few hours. I had to force myself away from her. I was wasting time and time was something I couldn't spare if I was going to get her out of Europe and safe. I took myself away from her and got dressed quickly. I found a dress for her, a little navy blue dress with black lace and light blue in the corset and in the middle of the slit down the dress, and threw it on the bed to her. I had her in her knickers and corset and dress before she could even gasp for air. Then I started packing a few things for her. I packed another dress and some necessities. She needed to travel light.

"Titus." She finally said when everything was packed and ready. "Titus what are you doing?"

"I need to get you out of here." Her face changed to a look of panic.

"What are you talking about? What do you mean I have to get out of here? What's going on?"

"The Volturi. They heard about what's going on. I have to get you out of here." I took her in my arms and ran her down to one of the horses and started saddling it. The station was about four hours away, but with the horse, she could get there in about forty minutes at longest. I tried to get her on the horse but she backed away from me.

"Where are we going."

"I'm staying here. I need to get rid of them and make sure they don't follow you. This horse will take you to the train station. When you get there, take the next train to Le Havre, France. They have ships there that go to all parts of the world. Take the boat to Buenos Aires, Argentina. When you get there, try your best to take care of yourself. Find a good job, marry a nice man who will take care of you. I'll handle the Volturi." Her eyes were wide and she was shaking her head. I grabbed her to put her on the horse, but she wouldn't let go of me.

"No."

"Nicoleta, we don't have time. Please, you have to go." She shook her head more.

"No. Not without you. I'm not going anywhere without you."

"I can't go with you. I have to get them off you trail so you can live."

"Then I'll wait for you in France." I shook my head and made her look at me.

"No! Don't wait for me. Go straight to Argentina."

"I said no! I won't leave you!"

"Nicoleta!" Even after yelling her name, she brought her face to mine and kissed me. She wrapped her arms around me so tightly, I'd never be able to force her off me without hurting her.

"No." She started mumbling the word through the kiss over and over again without letting up. I couldn't bring myself to push her away. I was tempted to leave with her. Simply run with the horse and swim her to Argentina. But I couldn't do that. They would follow me. Demetri undoubtedly knew my tenor and would follow it. And there was only so long we could run from them. The more of them I killed the better, even if it meant my life.

"Nicoleta, get on the horse."

"No."

"I'm not arguing with you, Nicoleta." She kept clutching to me, not letting me go. I tried thinking of anything that might make her go. It made me sick when I knew what I had to do. I had to lie to her. "Nicoleta, listen to me." She shook her head. "Nicoleta." She finally looked at me with tears streaming from her eyes. I fought every ounce of pain I felt in that moment. "Go to Argentina. I'll kill the Volturi here. When they're dead, I'll meet you in Buenos Aires. I'll come for you, Nicoleta." She looked at me like she was considering the option. I felt awful. I knew I wouldn't be able to. But if it made her go to safety, then I would do it again.

"Promise. Promise that you'll live. And come back for me." I nodded my head, keeping my eyes loving and promising.

"I swear it, Nicoleta. I'll come for you." We looked at each other for several minutes, possibly she was trying to decide whether such a thing was worth the risk. When she finally spoke, it was barely a squeak.

"I love you, Titus." I kissed her passionately then. It would be our last kiss. I wanted it to last. She clutched to me and embraced the kiss with vigor. It was like she knew I was lying to her and was making the most of our last moment together.

"I love you too, Nicoleta. You made me human again." She kept holding onto me as I lifted her onto the horse and got her comfortable. "Goodbye, Nicoleta, my love."

Before she could say a thing, I yelled to the horse in Latin, telling him to start running for the train station. I lost sight of her long after she did, but I saw her start to cry on the way. She knew me better than anyone. It wouldn't surprise me if she knew I was lying to her. I'd never lied to her before, and I hated doing it now. I stayed at the castle and waited. I swore I could feel Nicoleta getting on the train and crying when she got to her seat. But I stayed at the castle and waited for the Volturi to arrive. I thought of anything I could do that might give me a chance of living through this and going to her. But I knew I had nothing. My bat informed me when they were an hour away. When they were, I went to the woods ready to greet them. I waited patiently, all my dogs and animals there and ready to fight. I had a chance as long as Jane or Alec weren't in the group. I could win if they weren't there. Hence the reason I knew I couldn't win. Aro would never not bring at least one of them. Cowardice bastard.

I heard them make a formation and start to march when they were several yards away. I heard the sound of their feet and it was like listening to a drum. I could already see Alec in the distance. In that moment, I knew I was going to die. But I was at least hopeful that Nicoleta was going to be okay. I wanted her to make a life for herself. Find a job and make a living. As much as it angered me, I still wanted her to find someone else. Move on. It would be healthier that way. I simply liked to think that she would never love that man as much as she had loved me. When Aro and his guards were five yards away from me, they stopped and made a straight line in the small clearing of trees near my castle. Aro looked at all my animals and laughed. It was a laugh of what sounded like admiration. He was the one to speak.

"Titus Valerius. You know your crimes. What you've done has risked the vampire race and I'm afraid we simply can't tolerate it anymore."

"I haven't hunted the villagers in Transylvania for six years. I have no half breed children and I have not been collecting brides." Aro chuckled at my knowledge of the villager's little myths about me.

"I figured most were untrue. But I see that animals are. And do I smell a hint of human on you that isn't blood?" I didn't say anything. There really wasn't anything to say. Aro smirked at my silence. "As I thought. Well, Titus, you're in luck. I've heard of you genius. You would be a true asset to me and my coven. I am pleased to offer you a position in the Volturi clan."

"And Nicoleta?" Aro looked confused a moment, then realized what I meant.

"Your wife?" I nodded. "She's human, Titus. We can't have her knowing about us. But I'm open to letting her join if you change her into one of us." I hissed. That alone was the deal breaker. I already had no intention of joining the Volturi. I certainly wouldn't change Nicoleta just to save my own life.

"I'm a loner, Aro. I don't join covens. I don't take orders." As I spoke, I started feeling an odd sense of devotion to Aro, but I knew what it was. Chelsea was in the group. All I needed to do was ignore her power and I would be fine.

"It pains me to hear you say that, Titus. You really are quite a catch. I'd hate to waste your talents because of your stubbornness."

"I'm sorry to say that's what you'll be doing." Aro looked surprised by my words. They all looked at him waiting for the order. Then he rose his hand at Alec, telling him to use his power. I didn't fight it. I knew I couldn't. When blackness took me over, it was like a quick and painless death.

**NPOV**

My eyes shot open that moment. I figured I'd fallen asleep on the bus. My eyes were still sore from the tears. The ticket I'd been holding in my hand was now hole punched and clipped to the wall next to the door. Something was wrong. Very wrong. I felt a pain in my chest that was purely unbearable. I felt like I was being ripped apart and there was no way to stop it. I knew what had happened. That was the only explanation I could think of for the pain. He really had lied to me. I didn't want to believe it. I wanted to believe that he knew he would be alright, but I knew he was lying. I'd lost him. I'd really lost him. He wasn't away on business, he wasn't upset and gone for a few days. He was really gone. And I would never get him back or see him ever again. The realization came crashing down on me all at once. I felt dizzy and in pain. I was mumbling his name over and over, almost like I was trying to chant him back to life. He always said he would give his life for me. And he really did. I was shaking harder and harder with each passing moment. I clutched onto my stomach, trying desperately to keep myself together. I feared I would literally come apart. I also realized that I didn't care in the slightest if I did.

"Ma'am." I heard the word after I heard the door open quickly and that made me scream. The train conductor took a step back from being startled, then came back to me to calm me down. After that one scream, I couldn't stop. I screamed his name, I screamed come back and no, and I screamed just to scream. I began to cry as I screamed. The conductor started panicking and other passengers came to my car wanting to know why there was a woman on the train going hysterical.

One elderly woman came to me and cradled me in her arms and started to rock me back and forth singing a lullaby in what I believed to be Farsi. I kept crying while the woman sang so me and tried to calm me down while other passengers on the train looked at me with concern, others with anger and wanting me to shut up. It was a good thirty minutes before I stopped screaming and simply cried. I cried for hours after that. And the woman holding me never let go. She sang to me in Farsi the whole time, trying to calm me down. When I did stop crying, it was only because I couldn't stay awake anymore. I woke up to the same women saying something to me in Farsi. The conductor came over and told me, in Romanian, that the train was having problems and we needed to stop.

"What's wrong with the train?" The conductor shook his head.

"Nothing madam. We simply need to stop and pick up more people. We'll be here for about an hour." I forced myself to sit up on the bench before speaking again.

"Where are we."

"Prague, madam." After he said that, he walked away and started relaying the message to other passengers. The little woman sitting next to me kept stroking my hair. She said something in Farsi, but I didn't understand her. She saw my face react a certain way and she got her answer, whatever it was, from that. She gave me a little kiss on the cheek, gave me a little blanket with Farsi words, and walked out of the car to go to her own.

I stayed in the car for about an hour, just staring at the wall. After a while, I felt like I needed to move. So I walked out of the car and off the train. I started walking around looking, not for anything in particular. I took a seat on the bench and started staring at my feet. I lost all track of time ad before I even realized it, my train was gone. I didn't panic. I didn't have the will to. Instead, I left the train station and started wandering around Prague. The city was magnificent. I was lost in an instant. There were tall buildings, churches, restaurants everywhere. I didn't speak Czech, so there was no point in asking for direction. No one here would speak Romanian, I knew. I kept wondering around until it was nightfall. I was lucky enough to find a lodging area. Thankfully again, my money spoke for me. I ended up with a room on the third floor of the building. I wasn't sure how long the money Titus gave me would last, so it was best I find a job. I wasn't sure how I would do it, though. No one would understand a word I was saying and vice versa.

I ended up crying to sleep that night. When I woke, there were still tears streaming down my face. I pulled myself out of bed and left the building with all my things hoping to find a job anywhere. As much as I wanted to, death wasn't an option. He lost his life saving mine. The least I could do was live, whether I wanted to or not. I didn't want to even think about finding a new husband. It was like a slap to hear him even suggest it. As far as I was concerned, I would have Titus, or no one at all.

I managed to find a job working for an elderly rich woman cleaning her house. There were no servants there, so I assumed I was either her first servant, or she'd just fired a whole bunch and I was one of the first people off the street to ask for a job. I worked day and night, living at her home, never doing anymore than my job. She was exceptionally happy with my work. I was so desperate to keep my mind occupied that there was never a dust mite afloat in her house. I hadn't realized her son liked me until he made a pass at me one day while I was making dinner. I never spoke to him. I would grunt in response at best.

I worked for this woman for three months. After the first month, I assumed that no one was coming after me. Not that I would really care otherwise. But after three months, the woman's son had decided he wanted me and no wasn't an answer. I hit him over the head with a hot frying pan, giving him a bad burn on his face and a crack in his skull. Needless to say, the mother took her son's side and I was out of her house in an instant. I ran from the house before she had a chance to call for the cops.

I might not have been arrested, but I learned really quick that I had been blacklisted. No matter who I went to, they wouldn't hire me. I looked for a job for two solid days and never had any luck. By the third day, I was on the other half of the city still looking for a job. But as I was walking, I heard a warm, baritone, honey voice say my name. I knew that voice. I would know it anywhere. I looked where the voice had come from, and there he was. Titus. He was standing there with a smile on his face and his arms open to me. He was tucked into the ally way away from the people. It was night, so foot traffic at the time was minimal. I ran to him without a second thought. I grabbed onto him and held onto his hard from tightly. I was about to say his name when I noticed something very wrong. Titus didn't smell like plums and magnolias. He didn't have long hair and a skinny, curvy waist. And most importantly, Titus didn't have breasts. I stepped away from the impersonator and saw a woman with mahogany hair and red eyes and a dark off black cape. I knew right away what she was.

"I'm….I'm sorry. I thought you were…"

"I know what you thought I was." Her voice was wondrous and beautiful. It was like listening to music.

"I'm sorry. I'll go now." But when I turned, there was a man standing in front of me with long, dark hair and pasty skin with milky red eyes. I started backing away. The woman who'd been behind me wasn't behind me anymore. Now she was in line with all the other vampires there.

"I'm afraid I can't allow that, my dear." The vampire in the middle said. "You must be Nicoleta. You are as beautiful as Titus' mind told." I kept backing away until I was against a large brick wall. They kept following me until they were only a few feet away.

"Who are you?" He chuckled and shook his head gently.

"I am Aro, my dear. And I'm sorry to say that your dear husband has decided your fate. He refused to join us and change you, so we killed him. Now all that's left is to kill you." When he said that, I actually smiled. I couldn't believe I was, but I was smiling. "I'm glad this makes you happy madam." A tear fell from my eye. I would be with Titus after all. I nodded my head and looked at Aro.

"I am, milord. Very much." Aro simply smiled and looked over his shoulder at a blonde teenage boy that couldn't be older than seventeen. He made a gesture at him with his hand. He nodded, looked at me, and all went black.


	7. Prague

**Prague**

**August 25, 2012**

A girl was running through the streets of Transylvania. She wasn't sure what was after her. She only knew she was being followed. It had started with a man walking behind her, which she ignored. The man was fair-haired and was extremely pale. When she realized he was following her, she started walking faster, then eventually started running. The man wasn't following her. She looked over her shoulder several times to make sure that she really wasn't being followed. She went to a spot where late night people were walking around doing their own thing. She didn't see anyone following her anymore once she was in a crowded area. Then she got to her house near Dracula's castle and was about to walk up the steps. But then she saw a man with Dark hair and all black with pasty skin standing in front of her door.

He didn't answer her when she asked him who he was. He only walked to her with an evil smile on his face. That's when she turned and ran as fast as she could back to the town, hoping to get away from him. She didn't hear footsteps following her, so she was hoping whoever had been at her house wasn't following her anymore. She stopped running after a half a mile of aimless running. Thankfully, she was close to a police station, so she started making her way there. There was no way she was going home without some sort of protection after that. She turned the corner of the street where the police station was, but the fair-haired man from earlier was standing right there when she turned the corner.

The minute she saw him, she screamed and ran the other way. But she saw the man with black hair and pale skin that had been at her doorstep was on the street behind her, so she ran the other way towards her house again, not sure where else to go. People looked at her strange as she ran screaming with what looked to others like no one was following her. She finally reached her house and slammed the door closed and locked the door and left her security alarm on. She breathed deeply trying to get her heart rate under control and try to relax. She was home and safe. When she could finally breathe normally, she threw her house keys onto the counter at her front door and walked in. She took off her coat and threw it onto a chair in her living room and walked upstairs to her bedroom. She was so shaken up from what happened, she wasn't sure she could sleep tonight.

When she got to her room, she turned on the lights and looked up from the floor at her bed. That's when she saw the two men from earlier lying in her bed waiting. They were standing not even a second after she turned on the lights and were slowly walking towards her. She backed away and grabbed at her phone from her pants pocket. But the man with dark hair took her phone and smashed it in his hand like it was a cracker. Then they followed her until she lost her footing and fell down the stairs. The man with fair hair ended up being the one to catch her. He was like a rock and cold as ice. Then the other man was standing next to him and grabbed her wrist. They both brought their mouths to her neck and wrist and bit at the same time. She tried to scream, but one of them held her mouth closed to silence her.

Vladimir and Stefan finished drinking her blood within a minute. She stopped twitching after thirty seconds. When she was completely drained of blood, Stefan snapped her neck to shut down vital functions and dropped her on the floor. They were both relieved they didn't have to worry about the Volturi anymore. Normally they would have to make their kill fast and burn them afterwards. They hadn't enjoyed a string of mind games with humans in centuries. It was nice to be able to mess with them again. It made the meal all the more enjoyable.

"How long has it been since we've done something like this, Stefan?" Stefan chuckled and kicked the girl to make sure she wouldn't be able to change.

"I'd rather not say. It will make me feel old." They both laughed evilly to themselves and started making their way out of the house and onto the streets. "I will say, it's nice to have a castle again. It's not our old one, but Titus' old castle will do."

"It's a shame, though. The Volturi destroyed so many of Titus' things when they killed him. We could've used some of that stuff." Stefan laughed without humor.

"Watch. Those greedy bastards probably took his inventions for themselves. You know Aro. He always had to have everything others had. But I must confess, I'm a little disappointed that Titus didn't join the Volturi." Vladimir gave Stefan a weird look, demanding an explanation.

"Why would you say that?"

"Well, think about it, Vladimir. We could have had Titus as a spy." They both laughed together and Vladimir hated to burst Stefan's bubble.

"He wouldn't have. You know him. Always a leader, never under any circumstances a follower."

"He was a stubborn man, wasn't he?" Vladimir shrugged.

"Who cares when he had a mind like that? I'd tolerate any of his snide arrogance to have use of his genius again. We could rule the world with him at our side, Stefan."

"True. If only he hadn't died. Now we have to rule the world by ourselves." They both laughed again and entered Dracula's Castle and went to the library that was still there.

But shortly after they came back home, they heard footsteps outside. They weren't human. That was for sure. They got up and walked to the door to wait for a sign that whoever it was wanted to come in. When they were close enough, they immediately recognized the scents and opened the castle doors. There outside stood their old friend, Mykolas. He looked upset and desperate. Vladimir welcomed him into the castle and closed the doors. Stefan got right to the point.

"Mykolas, you look troubled. What's the matter?" Mykolas spoke in a quiet voice.

"Niele and I need your help."

"We'd be happy to help you. What is the problem?"

"We heard about what happened with the Cullens and those kids the Volturi guards had. We knew that those children were all born from a human mother. Am I right?" Stefan nodded.

"Yes, that's right. Renesmee was birthed by Bella when she was human. And the children of the former Volturi were also birthed by human mothers. None of those mothers lived through the ordeal, however." Mykolas waved his hand at the last thing Stefan said.

"That's not important right now. Niele and I had an idea to try something similar to that." Stefan and Vladimir smirked with intrigue.

"And what might that idea be?" Mykolas continued with a business like tone that was trying to stay calm.

"We kidnapped a pediatrician, two infertility specialists, and a gynecologist as well as six girls. With the help of the two infertility specialists, we had each girl carry a fertilized fetus from me and Niele."

"Is it safe to assume it was a failure?" Mykolas nodded with his eyes looking down.

"Yes. The children aren't growing into anything. They're staying the same. All Niele and I created was a little parasite. It drinks the girls' blood day and night from where it is in her uterus. We're assuming it's poisonous, but so far, none of the girls were changed. They're only getting weaker and weaker as the hours go by."

"How would we be able to help you?" Mykolas shrugged.

"I don't know. Niele sent me out to find someone we could ask for advice. She didn't care if I asked a frog as long as I got answers." Vladimir and Stefan chuckled a little, though Mykolas wasn't joking at all. Vladimir continued with the conversation.

"Show us what you're doing. Maybe we could help you come up with something from there." Mykolas smiled a little.

"Thank you. We're all the way in Vilnius, but if we keep top speed, that should take more than six hours to run. Unless you want to get there in two hours and take a plane." They shook their heads.

"Not at all. We'll just run." Mykolas shook his head.

"I think we should take the plane. Niele's getting more irritable by the second."

"She's always irritable."

"Well, she's more irritable than usual and I'm the one who has to be in the fire when she is. Please do me a favor and let's sneak on a plane so we can get there faster."

"Alright. If you insist." With that understanding, Vladimir, Stefan, and Mykolas left the castle and ran as fast as they could to the airport where they found a plane leaving for Vilnius and snuck into the cargo room.

The plane got them to Lithuania in two hours as anticipated and Mykolas got them to where he and Niele were holding everyone hostage within minutes. When they finally arrived, Niele went straight to Mykolas and kissed him and hugged him. While he hugged her back, she told him how upset she was that their experiment wasn't working. She didn't even acknowledge Vladimir and Stefan for a good five minutes. When she finally did acknowledge them, she wasn't all that happy.

"You told me you wouldn't care if I asked a frog as long as it gave us answers, Niele."

"Yes, but I didn't mean it literally."

Mykolas smiled and kissed Niele's forehead trying to calm her a little. Vladimir and Stefan looked at the people there who were being held captive. The doctors looked hard at work while the girls looked like they were in excruciating pain. They really were. The eggs that were put in them were drinking their blood all hours of the day and doing it slowly. They were all beginning to feel light headed and were feeling cramps that rivaled those of a normal period.

"How, may I ask, are they going to help us, Mykolas?" Mykolas shrugged and gave Niele a serious look.

"I don't know, Niele, but we don't have many other options. We aren't exactly the most popular vampires in Europe." Niele and Mykolas looked at each other for a moment before Niele sighed and looked at Vladimir and Stefan again.

Stefan and Vladimir were looking at the doctors they had hard at work. They were looking over all the girls that looked like they were in extreme pain, as if anything they did would help them feel more comfortable. Vladimir looked at Mykolas and Niele after a few minutes with a serious look on his face.

"Which ones are the infertility specialists?" Niele pointed to two elderly men, one was balding with grey hair and the other was wrinkled like a road map with what was clearly a brown toupee. "What are their names?" Niele answered.

"The one with the toupee is Dr. Murza. The other one is Dr. Sadouskas." Vladimir nodded his head and walked over to both specialists. When he had their attention, they started backing away slowly even after Vladimir and Stefan stopped walking over to them.

"Tell me, doctor. Is there anything you can think of to remedy this situation?" They both stayed silent. "Don't be shy. Any suggestions will be welcome." The one who spoke was Dr. Sadouskas. His voice was timid, but attempting to be strong.

"What you're all doing is insane. Please, just let us go." Vladimir swatted the man across the face hard enough to hurt him but gentle enough so that he didn't break his skull.

"I asked you to come up with suggestions, not make pleas. Now, answer our question. In your professional opinion, what procedure can be done to make Mykolas and Niele have a child together?"

There was silence from all the doctors after that. Vladimir stood in front of Murza and Sadouskas waiting for one of them to say something. He waited in silence, never flinching or even blinking as he waited. Stefan took a spot standing behind Vladimir and waited with him for them to respond. Someone finally spoke, but it wasn't Murza or Sadouskas. It was the gynecologist, Dr. Norkaitis, that was standing behind them next to the teenage girl at the end of the rows. His voice was timid and quiet and he stuttered a lot as he spoke. He was so nervous to talk, but was hoping cooperation would save his life.

"There is…….s…something we could try." Vladimir and Stefan turned to face him and he had Mykolas and Niele's full attention.

"Please explain." Dr. Norkaitis tried to breathe deep so he was calm as possible. When he answered, he made sure his voice wasn't shaky or stuttering.

"Well, there's something that couples have been using recently. And so far, it's been pretty successful. There are couples I've dealt with who suffer from sterility or bareness. A doctor in England tried an experiment where he took the sperm or egg of the infertile couple and took their DNA and placed it in a blank, healthy egg or sperm cell. He used donated sperm and eggs and replaced the DNA. And the woman or surrogate mother got pregnant and had a normal pregnancy. When the baby was born, they performed a DNA test to make sure it was successful and the child matched to both parents the same way he would if he were a natural born child."

"So you're suggesting that one of them have their egg or sperm replaced with that of a human and simply replace the DNA information with their own?" Dr. Norkaitis nodded.

"That's right, sir." They all smiled, even Niele, at the idea. With a smile in her voice and almost like she was singing from joy, she looked at the doctors with an excited smile.

"Well, doctors, get to work on that."

The girls that were already there were in no condition to carry another child and there was no way the doctors could remove the parasite from them. So Mykolas left the hiding place and looked around Vilnius for a girl. He settled for a girl that he found walking through the dormitories at the University of Vilnius. He knocked her out so she wouldn't make any noise and got her back to their hiding place to let the doctors get to work. The doctors looked through her stuff to get a name and maybe be able to look up her medical history before doing anything. Niele was all for making sure there was nothing wrong with her before doing anything.

Her name was Ausra Norkus they came to find out from her school ID and driver's license. And she was perfectly healthy from what the doctors could find out from medical documentation they could get over the computer. What they got was enough information for Niele and she had the doctors start as soon as they had everything verified. Ausra awoke to the unfamiliar room and screamed and tried to get away, but Mykolas, Vladimir, and Stefan were sure to keep her down while Niele, not so kindly, persuaded the doctors to keep working.

Once Ausra was pregnant, the doctors monitored her and would take shifts taking care of her. They were horrified when they noticed how fast the baby was growing. Mykolas and Niele were worried at first too. But Vladimir and Stefan explained to them that this was perfectly normal for a half breed child and the baby would grow to adult age by six or seven and stop aging after that. They explained a little more about the encounter with the Volturi and how they met Nahuel and his family and learned everything they needed to know from him. Both Mykolas and Niele were relieved to hear that and were more enthusiastic as the pregnancy went on.

"I hate to admit this, but I think we might owe Vladimir and Stefan." Mykolas looked at Niele with a surprised expression. Vladimir and Stefan were out hunting, so Mykolas and Niele were able to have some time alone.

"In a manner, I think so too. It wasn't really their idea, but at least they scared them into giving us one." Niele laughed a little and hugged Mykolas.

"Can I make a request for when the baby is born?" Mykolas nodded.

"Of course."

"My youngest son was killed before he was even a month old. That picture is as clear as if I'd seen it with a vampire's eyes."

"I know."

"My baby boy forced out of my arms and thrown in the air and shot like a bird at hunting season." Her voice was starting to crack a little. Mykolas held her close and kissed the top of her head.

"I know. I'm sorry you had to go through that."

"It's my baby that went through something. Killed before he had a chance to live. Those bastards took both my babies away from me."

"I know." Niele took a moment to bring herself together a little. When her voice wasn't cracking anymore, she finally made her request.

"If this child is a boy, I want to name him after my youngest son. He won't replace him, but it will make me feel a little better in a manner." Mykolas smiled and brought her lips to his and gave her a loving kiss before he looked in her eyes and nodded his head.

"Alright, Niele. If it's a boy, we'll name him Antanas. If it's a girl, we'll name her Fiona. That was my sister's name." Niele smiled and kissed Mykolas' neck.

"Fiona's pretty." Niele and Mykolas sat together watching the sun rise together before going back in to look in on the progress.

When it was finally time for the baby to come, Niele kept the doctors aside. She wanted to be the first one to hold her baby. Mykolas, Vladimir, and Stefan kept all the doctors back so they couldn't interfere with Niele or the baby. Ausra's screams were piercing and all the doctors were begging to be let in so they could handle the situation properly. But they were kept back as Niele waited in anticipation for her baby. Finally, after an hour of Ausra screaming at the top of her lungs from the pain, she started screaming even louder when the baby started forcing its way out. When the baby's hands were visible, Niele grabbed them and started helping the baby along. Then her baby, her little boy, was finally in her arms. Ausra finally stopped screaming when Antanas was out, but she was still crying from the pain she was still feeling. Niele cut the umbilical cord and brought Antanas with her to a little tub of water she'd prepared earlier.

Antanas already had his father's dark brown hair. And his hair was slightly curly like hers had been when she was younger. It never curled again after the Nazis cute Niele's hair. It grew back only enough for it to look cute as a vampire and sexy in every time period. Antanas had the cutest brown eyes. They looked exactly like her son's eyes. But they were more alert and aware. Antanas looked around like any intelligent little baby. He had pale skin like her and Mykolas and had Mykolas' nose and his ears while Antanas had Niele's smile, chin and cheeks. He was perfect in every way. He looked more beautiful than either Niele or Mykolas. And his smile was filled with bright little teeth that made Niele smile wider at the sight of him.

When Antanas was all clean, he finally opened his eyes and looked at Niele. When he saw her, he smiled wide and reached out to her. Niele felt like she might cry from joy and she kissed Antanas' perfect ten toes and his perfect ten fingers and his cute little belly and forehead. She dressed Antanas in a little outfit she'd snatched a few days ago. It was a little pair of footy pajamas with a little doggy on the front. Mykolas was standing close to Niele and took her in his arms when she turned around towards him. They both looked at Antanas and he looked up at them with a sweet little smile.

"He's so perfect, Mykolas." Mykolas grinned a little more and kissed Niele's forehead.

"He really is." Vladimir and Stefan interrupted the touching moment. Stefan asked his question in a serious, but happy tone.

"It's a wonderful development. But we do still need to decide what to do with everyone." Niele and Mykolas looked away from Antanas and at the humans they'd held captive. Ausra was now dead from the loss of so much blood during the labor. The other girls were long since dead from the parasitic children they all carried. Mykolas and Niele looked back at each other a moment, then silently came to what they thought was the proper conclusion.

"Let's just kill them." The doctors started backing away looking horrified and scared. Murza was the only one with the courage to speak.

"You promised to let us go after this. You said that as long as we helped you that we'd all be fine." Niele gave them an evil grin before she spoke.

"Looks like I was lying then, doesn't it?"

That said, Niele and Mykolas grabbed two of the doctors and started quenching their thirst. Niele was sure to give a little of that to Antanas, which he gulped down. When they were done with the first two, Niele and Mykolas went for the last two doctors who Vladimir and Stefan had made sure to keep in the room. Niele gave plenty to Antanas and he went to sleep after he was done. Niele and Mykolas finished off the Ausra and drank the rest of her blood that was left in her body. Once all the people were dead, Vladimir and Stefan helped Mykolas and Niele to dump the bodies two miles outside the city on the Neris River.

**October 31, 2012**

Two months after his birth, everyone discovered something about little Antanas. He'd been walking around playing with a rabbit he'd found in the woods. They all stayed close behind him to make sure he would be okay, Niele staying the closest to Antanas. As he ran after the little rabbit, Antanas tripped and fell on his hands and knees. He didn't cry. He only got sad that the rabbit got away. Antanas had felt something very odd in the ground under his hands. It wasn't something he literally felt with his hands. It was more an odd sensation he was having in his spine. It was a feeling like something was there.

"Antanas, are you alright?"

Antanas wasn't listening to Niele or anyone else. He was fascinated by the feeling he was having. Then the image of a thing came to his mind. It was the image of a person dressed in old fashioned clothes, then it changed to the face of a man with hair all over and large canines. He had an instinct and went with it. He closed his eyes and kept thinking of what he felt under the ground. He concentrated until that feeling, though still there, was different than before. Antanas and everyone else started to hear an odd growling sound. Niele lifted Antanas into her arms and looked at the spot Antanas had been in, knowing that's where the sound was coming from. But there was nothing there, which left everyone confused. Mykolas, Vladimir, and Stefan stood in front of Niele and Antanas to keep them away from what might be there.

The growling continued, but for a moment, nothing more happened. But then they saw something start to form. It started as just simple bones forming. That alone made everyone back away again. The bones kept forming to create a human skeleton that was moving around in what looked like extreme pain. When all the bones were formed, the skeleton started moving around in one place even more and red started to cover it. It was the muscles growing onto the skeleton and it's organs were starting to form before their eyes, first being it's beating heart. The all the other organs and muscles started to form and the eyes were staring up at the sky in agony. The bones started to change a little from a normal human structure to an odd animal like quality. The growling was getting louder as the process went on and it sounded like the scream of a man and the howl of a wolf all combined into one. Then the skin started covering all the muscle and organs and that skin was covered in dark brown hair. The creature kept rolling around in pain as it was being recreated. And when the beast was finally done and all its body was formed and there for all to see, it started forcing itself off the ground and shook its head to gain back it's sense. When it had it back, it looked around a little and saw everyone standing there watching it. When it saw everyone, it started to growl ferociously and with anger.

The creature started to run to them after snarling for a few minutes. They were all ready to fight and kill it, but then another strange thing happened. Antanas put in all his concentration and thought the creature away. When he did, the monster's heart stopped, vital functions stopped, and it plopped to the ground with a loud thud and died again. Everyone stared in awe of what they'd just seen. They weren't sure at first what had happened. Stefan was the one to come to a conclusion and be hopeful. He looked at Antanas and asked if he'd done that and to bring the creature back again if he had. Antanas did as he was told and brought the creature back again. The beast shook its head a moment to recover, then tried to charge at them again. But Antanas took away its life as easily as he'd given it back to him. Niele and Mykolas looked at Antanas in shock and started petting and praising his new gift. Vladimir and Stefan looked at each other and their eyes became hopeful.

"Stefan." They both laughed a little. "This boy can bring back the dead."

"It would appear so. With this child, we could bring back anyone we wanted. Any strong vampires the Volturi destroyed, any power we could ever want can be ours again, Vladimir." Vladimir grinned wider.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking, my friend?" Stefan grinned wider as well as they came to their own silent agreement.

"I believe I am." They laughed together for a moment before looking back at Niele and Mykolas. They'd already heard what it was they'd been saying. All Stefan needed to do was smile. "Mind lending us a hand?"

"Who do you want my son to bring back?" Niele asked with caution in her voice. Vladimir and Stefan looked at each other a moment and grinned before looking back at Antanas.

"We have a close friend that was killed by the Volturi several years ago. He was a master planner. He was a renaissance man in every essence of the word. We think he would be an asset to us if we were to bring him back."

"Who?" Asked Mykolas. Vladimir answered.

"His name is Titus Valerius. And thanks to your son's gift, I think we can put his genius at work again." Niele and Mykolas looked at each other a moment contemplating whether they should agree or not. Stefan tried to add fuel to the fire.

"Think about it, Niele, Mykolas. Vladimir and I want to come back into power. And I know you, Niele, would love nothing better than to make the world pay for what happened to you." He had Niele's full attention when he said that.

"How would he be able to help with that?"

"Like I said, he's a planner. He can devise a plot that's simple and effective that would satisfy all our wants." Vladimir continued.

"So what do you say? Will you let your son help us?" Niele looked at each other again, Niele with a wide smirk, Mykolas with a nervous look.

"Niele, I don't know about this."

"What's there to be unsure about?"

"I just have a bad feeling about this." Niele kissed Mykolas' cheek and hugged him close.

"It'll be okay. I promise. And we can pull out of this at any time." Mykolas looked at Niele a little longer before glancing at Vladimir and Stefan again, then back at Niele. He took a deep, unneeded, breath and rested his forehead against hers.

"If you say so, Niele." Niele's grin widened and she kissed Mykolas before looking at Vladimir and Stefan again.

"Alright. We'll help." Vladimir and Stefan smiled and exchanged a quick look at each other then looking back at Niele.

"We're most grateful."

They all made their way back to Romania after that. Antanas was growing fast and was already about the size of the average two year old when they got there. Vladimir and Stefan tried not to get annoyed with the unusually slow pace. Antanas would run off a lot and chase and animal around and Niele would insist that Antanas was dirty and needed another bath. That would lead to a little chase around the woods. Antanas hated baths and would run as fast as he could to get away from Niele so he wouldn't have to take one. Niele would let him run ahead of her for a minute, then she would go at top speed and catch him in seconds and have him thoroughly cleaned no matter how much Antanas whined.

"I hate baths." Antanas said stubbornly after his clothes were off and Niele was putting him in the clear lake water. Niele only smiled.

"I know, darling. I wouldn't have to clean you so much if you didn't wonder off all the time."

"But I want to play. Vladimir and Stefan are boring." Niele giggled and kissed Antanas' head.

"I know. Those two are joined at the hip. It's hard to have fun with those two when they're so used to it being just them."

"Why are their eyes so milky looking?" Niele was surprised a moment, then kept cleaning.

"That was random."

"I'm two months old, mommy. My mind wanders." Niele giggled and rolled her eyes.

"I suppose it does. Well, they used to rule the vampire world you see. And when they did, they used to sit on thrones all day and all night, having their prey all come to them. Because of that, they went through a little process were their bodies, in a sense, started decaying. Take, for example, the way my skin feels. To any human, it feels like granite stone. But because Vladimir and Stefan weren't as active in the past as me and your father are, their skin now feels more like flint than granite. They're still hard skinned and indestructible, but they started withering away for lack of a better word."

"Why would they stay still for that long?" Niele shrugged.

"Because they could, I suppose." Niele laughed a little to herself. "There's actually a little myth that if a vampire stays still long enough, they can turn to dust."

"Could that actually happen?"

"I doubt it. It's just a myth. There's another myth that there's a vampire couple that ruled for a while, but they were still for so long, that they turned to stone."

"Is it true?" Niele giggled and shook her head.

"Heavens no. If it was, the Volturi would have had that little trinket in their stash or a museum somewhere would have them." Antanas looked at Niele for a minute and stopped talking. After a few more minutes of scrubbing, Antanas brought back the conversation.

"What happened to you and daddy?" Niele looked at Antanas a little surprised again. Then she sighed and started talking again.

"It's a long story for both of us, sweetie."

"Tell me anyway." Niele sighed a little to herself.

"Fine." She poured more body wash into her hand and started scrubbing as Antanas contained a groan of complaint. "What happened to your father is that he was murdered. He was married to a woman named Andrea who came from a poor family. He was relatively poor too, but he was better off than her. Anyway, they were married for five years before she found another man. They had an affair for a while and decided they wanted Mykolas gone and be able to keep his money. So Andrea's lover, Kroger, shot your father twice in the stomach and once in his neck and dumped his body in the woods. Your father lost consciousness, then came to when a vampire had bitten into his wrist. But the vampire that bit him didn't like the taste of his blood and ran off, leaving your father to change. Three days later, he was a vampire."

"Did dad let them get away with what they did?" Niele smiled and shook her head.

"No, honey, he didn't. He came back and started 'haunting' Andrea. Telling her that he knew what she'd done and that he'd have revenge. She ignored it for a time since her and Kroger got married and everything seemed fine. But conveniently for your father, he didn't have to do more than spook her out. As it turns out, Kroger only married Andrea for the money she got from your father's death. He ended up killing her, keeping the money for himself, and went back to Russia where he was from. He had a lover that he'd been with for years. They were poor, so they decided to accumulate as much money as possible. Kroger had been married three times total and had all the money from those marriages before he went back to Russia. His lover had been married four times. All that was left was for Kroger and his lover to murder her husband and gain the riches before getting married to each other."

"How long did that take?"

"About twenty years for both members. But by the end of it, they were able to make enough money to get themselves at the rank of aristocrat. Guess what famous man in history those two are related to?" Antanas shrugged.

"I don't know, mommy. Who?" Niele gave Antanas an evil smile before answering.

"Joseph Stalin." Antanas' eyes widened. That's to Niele and her constant rants about the time, Antanas knew just about everything there was to know about anything regarding World War II, how it happened, who ruled at the time, and how it ended.

"Really?" Niele nodded.

"Yep. They were Kroger and Nastazja Dzhugashvili."

"I thought Stalin was from Georgia." Niele nodded.

"He was. But he had relatives that were Russian, Kroger and Nastazja being two of them. They were distant relatives, though. I believe Kroger was the cousin of Stalin's father. Their fathers were brothers."

"Then wouldn't their names be Stalin too?" Niele shook her head.

"Not at all. Joseph Stalin wasn't his real name. Not many people know this, but Stalin's real name was Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili."

"Oh. Why did he change his name?" Niele shrugged.

"To make himself more intimidating I suppose. Stalin means steel in Russian, and that's more intimidating than Dzhugashvili. Not to mention for a foreigner, Stalin's easier to pronounce." Antanas laughed a little with Niele and started playing with the water.

"What about you?" Niele was quiet a moment. She was really bitter about what happened to her and hence didn't like talking about it. "Please, mommy." Niele was quiet a little longer and looked at Antanas as he started to pout. Finally, she breathed out and spoke.

"Alright. Well, I was eighteen when I got married to my first husband, Nicolai. He was twelve years my senior, but I didn't mind."

"Did you love him?" Niele smiled a little.

"I really did, actually. He was the first man I ever loved. He was dependable, high spirited, determined and hard working, and he always made sure we had a roof over our heads, clothes on our backs, and food on the table. We weren't rich at all, but we were pretty well off. A lot of people think Jews are lucky or sneaky or penny pinchers. I won't lie that Nicolai and I hated wasting money, but everything else isn't true. Most Jews just grew up with a high work ethic and very pushy parents that expected a lot."

"Was daddy Jewish?" Niele shook her head.

"No. Mykolas was Catholic, like most people in Eastern Europe. He still is really. And I'm still Jewish." Niele's hand moved the Star of David she wore around her neck for a moment before she went on. "During Hanukah, we'll exchange gifts for seven days, then on Christmas, we'll exchange gifts again. That's how we've always done it. Which reminds me, I need to get you a yarmulke. I can't take you to any temple any holiday of the year without a yarmulke."

"What's a yarmulke?"

"It's a little hat Jewish men wear on their heads for special occasions like Passover, Hanukah, weddings, and so on." Antanas nodded.

"So anyway, Nikolai was great, life was fine. Keep going." Niele smiled a little before she started looking sad again and kept talking.

"Well, anyway, we had our first son about a year after we'd gotten married. His father had been Nicolai Sr., he was Nicolai Jr., so we decided to name our son Nikolai after his father and grandfather. I didn't end up getting pregnant again until seven years later. We were so happy to be having another baby. What was going on with Hitler didn't even seem to matter. Everything was going well for us. And as long as we didn't bother the Russian soldiers, they usually didn't bother us."

"What happened?"

"Well, by 1940, Hitler was trying to round up as many Jews as he could so he could fulfill his cleansing plan. He wanted to rule Europe, which meant getting rid of all the Jews that he deemed responsible for the loss of World War I. It wasn't so bad at first. We were put in a Ghetto where we were able to live out our lives the way we used to. But then we started losing privileges, getting beaten around, and before we knew it, the soldiers put us on a train not telling us where we were going. And all the while, everyone sat back and watched as if nothing was happening."

"OW! Mommy, you're hurting me!" Niele was taken out of her trance and realized she'd been squeezing Antanas' arm.

"I'm sorry, honey, I didn't mean it. I was just getting upset was all. I didn't break anything did I?" Antanas shook his head.

"No, mommy, I'm fine." Niele sighed in relief.

"I better stop, I'm only getting angry."

"No, keep going. Just try not to squeeze me anymore." Niele looked at Antanas with a reluctant look on her face. Antanas gave Niele the sweetest face he could muster, and Niele finally melted and smiled.

"Fine. Like I said, they forced us into a train and never told us where we were going. Most of us didn't speak German anyway, so whatever they did tell us was lost in translation. But it was all business when they got us to Auschwitz and told us, with a soldier translating for us, that we were to work and if we went out of line or went against orders, it meant our lives. I have to be honest, few movies really portray how awful the camps really were. Schindler's List came close, but even that wasn't very accurate as far as how badly we were treated. Schindler was a real person though. And they have a statue of him in Israel to honor what he did for a lot of Jews.

"I was separated from my husband and son and sent to another part of the camp. I told Nikolai to lie and tell the soldiers he was fourteen. Soldiers wouldn't keep you alive to work if you were too young. They would usually put the children and elderly in gas chambers and rid of them quickly. I've seen several women I was with fall to their knees and start crying because their parents or their young children were in that pile of dead bodies they would force us to help dispose of. And we weren't people when we were there. We were numbers." Niele lifted her sleeve to reveal a number written across her wrist.

"901824?" Niele nodded.

"That was my number. My husband's was 506721 and my son's number was 554272. And I was seven months pregnant when we arrived in Auschwitz. How they didn't notice I was pregnant, I'll never know. But I was able to carry my baby without any problems for the most part. And I never provoked the soldiers, so they pretty much left me alone. But there was a woman at the camp that I didn't really like. But under the circumstances, I could hardly be choosy about who I talked to. Olga was her name.

"Her husband was killed shortly after he arrived. He had the flu or a cold, so they got rid of him. But she was a pretty girl and the soldiers noticed it. Olga would exchange sexual favors to the guards for favors like better food and they were marginally nicer to her. She found out I was pregnant and I made her swear that she wouldn't tell anyone about it. She promised, as did the rest of the women in my bunker, and they helped me along for the rest of my pregnancy. When I went into labor, it was the middle of the night and everyone helped keep me quiet and made precautions to avoid blood on my sheets and such. We kept the baby's cry quiet so the guards wouldn't hear him and your older brother, Antanas was born."

"How long did he live?" Niele looked like she was close to tears when she answered.

"A week. I would sneak away to feed him every chance I got. And I managed to see Nicolai and told him about the baby. We couldn't talk long, but he was thrilled the baby was born and okay. But a week after Antanas was born, soldiers barged into our bunker earlier than usual. The soldier went straight to me and pulled me and Antanas out of bed and to the middle of the camp. When we got there, my son and husband were on a platform with ropes around their necks so they could be hung. The soldier forced Antanas out of my arms and started lecturing everyone. Children can't work, he'd said. Then he threw my baby in the air and shot him. If the bullet hadn't killed him, the fall certainly did. I ran to the soldier and tried to stop him, but he pushed me away. And once he'd shot Antanas, he turned and shot my stomach. Then they hung Nicolai and our son."

"How did you know Olga told?"

"Because they made her confess to everyone. After the soldier's little lecture, he made Olga tell everyone what she told them. And when the soldiers took me away, I was screaming at her telling her she'd pay for what she did. I wasn't sure how at the time, but I swore I would get her back. The soldiers didn't bother killing me before throwing me into the fire."

"How did you live through that?"

"Your father saved me. When I asked him why later, he just said he couldn't let that happen to me. There was a door on the other side of the furnace that opened from the outside. Your father opened that and pulled me out before the fire could burn anymore than my clothes and skin. He put out my hair so I was able to fix it later. I kept screaming for him to stop the fire, but I didn't realize I wasn't on fire anymore for a good hour. When it was over, your father's face was the first thing I saw. We didn't fall in love right away. I was hurt over losing my husband and sons and was hardly in the mood to socialize, let alone move on."

"But you guys did, right?" Niele smiled and kissed Antanas' head again.

"Yes, honey, we did. It took seven years, exactly 1200 fights about my bitterness, and me leaving him nine times, but we did. He always says that he loved me all along." Then Niele took Antanas out of the water, dried him off, and put him in a pair of fresh cloths. "Now let's get going. Vladimir and Stefan will start yelling at us, and I've listen to them bitch enough." Antanas laughed and let Niele lift him into her arms and walked back to where everyone was waiting.

They started running again as fast as they could to Romania. They managed to get to Romania within 24 hours, which is a little longer than they would have liked. But Antanas got some sleep before they arrived, so they didn't need to wait for Antanas to sleep before getting done what needed to be done. Vladimir and Stefan didn't know exactly where Titus was, but they knew he'd been near the castle when he died. So they started walking around following Antanas waiting for him to see Titus' image in his head. Antanas knew, from what Vladimir and Stefan told him, that he was looking for a man with pale olive skin, dark brown hair, and a chiseled face. And if he saw a man with red eyes, that would be a big give away. He didn't find him right away. They ended up circling the town for a good three days. When they finally found him, they were a half mile away from the castle and Antanas sensed Titus inside someone's house.

"So we have to break into someone's house to bring back your genius?" Niele said.

"It doesn't matter. We found him. That's all that matters."

"Should we just kill whoever lives here or wait until their out of the house?" Vladimir answered Mykolas' question.

"Kill them. I don't have the patience to wait until morning." Stefan nodded in agreement.

"I agree. Let's get this done as quickly as possible."

Once they all agreed, Vladimir looked for a way into the house that was quiet. He found an open window in the back yard and motioned for everyone to come into the house. The house was a modest size and had toys lying around. It evident that a large family lived her. Stefan went upstairs and killed all the inhabitants by breaking their necks. It was quick, painless, and got the job done. They could drink their blood later once Antanas brought back who they came there for. Antanas started walking slowly through the house trying to find where Titus' image was most prominent.

"Do you see anything, honey?" Niele asked as Antanas walked around slowly with his eyes closed.

"He's getting clearer." Antanas walked around with everyone following for a little longer before he came to a stop. He was standing in the middle of the living room where a bright red rug covered the dark wood floors between the small TV and an old couch. "He's right here." Vladimir and Stefan smirked.

"Good." Stefan said with contained enthusiasm. "Let's bring our friend to the present." Antanas nodded his head and got down on his hands and knees and thought of the image of Titus that was in his head. He thought long and hard, willing for him to return.

When he was done, he stood back up and backed away until he was standing next to Niele and Mykolas. They all stood there waiting, though they didn't hear anything like they had when Antanas brought back the werewolf. And after waiting twenty seconds and nothing happening, Vladimir and Stefan got angry. They looked at Antanas with an accusing look, Vladimir speaking what they both wanted to say.

"Where is he?"

"I'm sorry. I saw him clearly. He should be here."

"Well, he's not. This should have worked by now." Niele came to Antanas' defense.

"Maybe bringing back the dead isn't his power. Maybe it's something else. It could easily be something else." Stefan spoke next.

"Well that doesn't help us any, now does it?" That's when they started hearing something, though. It was like something was moving.

The wood on the floor sounded like it was moving a little bit like something was underneath it. They all backed away from that spot and waited patiently again. Seconds later, a hand shot through the floor revealing the rest of an arm and a shoulder, all a pale olive tone. Then a second hand shot up from the floor after that and rested on the wood floor next to the other hand. Then those two hands pushed down and pulled up the head of a man with dark hair, chiseled face, and scarlet eyes. Vladimir and Stefan grinned widely as they watched Titus pull himself out from under the floorboards. Niele made Antanas face her so he wouldn't see the naked man that was now standing before them.

**TPOV**

For a moment, I'd felt nothing, then I felt like I was wide awake and that my whole body was being stretched and forced to form a different shape. It didn't hurt as much as it felt incredibly odd. I realized there was something above me and forced my way out when they stretching and pulling finally stopped. When I was out and I could see where I was, I was baffled. I was in a living room. That much I figured out myself. But I remembered being in the woods when I died. That was another thing. I was positive I'd died. The Volturi never left survivors like me that were so blatantly rude to them.

I took a look around the little room and tried to make sense of where I was. Then I saw Vladimir, Stefan, and three other vampires I didn't know. No. Only two vampires. The little boy wasn't a vampire. He had a beating heart. But he didn't smell quite human. Then it clicked in my head. He was a half breed. I never thought I'd see one of those. He looked exactly like his parents. But they were both vampires. I wondered if maybe a vampire fell in love with a human and had a child together while she was human. My train of thought was interrupted by Vladimir talking.

"Titus. It's a privilege to see you again." I was sure I wouldn't feel the same way once I knew what the hell was going on.

"Where am I? What happened?" Stefan spoke.

"You're still in Transylvania, the same spot you were in when you died. They've simply built a housing area since you've been dead." I looked at them and looked around the room again. There were several things in that room that I didn't recognize. The style of the home seemed odd compared to what I'd known from before. And the home even smelled slightly cleaner than that of homes that had been around when I was alive. I looked back at them and asked the inevitable question.

"How long have I been dead?" They looked at each other and smiled in amusement. Then Stefan looked at me again with that same smile.

"119 years have passed. The year is now 2012." My eyes didn't widen like I think they were hoping for. "And I have news I think you will like."

"What would that be?" Vladimir continued.

"The Volturi are no more." I raised an eyebrow at the statement. "Aro and Caius are dead and the guards have scattered. The vampire world is free at last."

"Is that so?" They all nodded. "I see. That's good news."

"Indeed it is. And I've got more interesting news." Stefan walked over to the little boy and presented him. "This is little Antanas. He's half human and half vampire."

"I figured that out myself." Stefan nodded.

"I assumed. But both his parents were vampires when he was born." My expression didn't change, but I was surprised.

"Is that so?" He nodded.

"You must love science. Doctors were able to take Mykolas' DNA and place it in human sperm so it could fertilize Niele's egg and produce a child and not a parasite. And with the help of a human surrogate mother, Antanas was able to grow into a gifted child. He's the reason we're talking to you right now." I looked at the boy and he smiled respectfully at me. I smiled a little in return, then looked at Stefan and Vladimir.

"That's good news for Mykolas and Niele." They all nodded and Niele looked at Antanas with motherly affection and Mykolas looked at Antanas with a father's pride and joy. "Now on to something more important." They all looked at me. Vladimir asked for elaboration.

"What do you mean, Titus?" I walked a little closer, Niele covering Antanas' eyes again.

"Where's Nicoleta?" They looked at each other a little confused before Vladimir and Stefan looked at me again and Vladimir answered.

"She's dead."

"Well, no shit, Vladimir. Where is she? Did she make it to Argentina? When did she pass away?" They looked at each other again and Stefan was the one to speak this time.

"She never made it to Argentina actually. Her train stopped in Prague and she never got back on." I gave them a confused look.

"Prague? Why would the train go through Czechoslovakia?"

"It's actually the Czech Republic now. And Slovakia made itself its own country after World War II."

"I don't care about that." Stefan and Vladimir took a step back at the tone in my voice. Stefan finally continued after they got over the tone of my voice.

"The train was making a routine stop. She got off to stretch her legs, I suppose, and she never got back on the train. She was in Prague for three months, then the Volturi found her after they were done cleaning out everything in the castle that was reminiscent of you and they killed her."

My heart fell to the pit of my stomach when I heard those words. I should have known she wouldn't get away. I never should have left her side. I should have run with her to Argentina and kept running. We might have had a chance and been able to stay together till the end if I'd done it that way. I couldn't save her, and that realization was the most painful thing I'd ever felt. But knowing that the Volturi was gone and that this boy could bring back the dead made me feel more hopeful. I could bring her back. I'd denied her life, now I could give it back to her. I looked at Vladimir and Stefan again.

"This boy can bring back the dead, am I right?" They nodded their heads while Mykolas left for a moment then came back with pants and a dirty shirt. He threw them at me and I put them on quickly. They were repulsive and smelled of an odd tobacco and what I could swear was rat poisoning, but I wore them. I could always look for better clothes later. "I want her back." Vladimir and Stefan looked at each other, then changed the subject.

"Titus, we would like you to help us. Bring us back to power. Help us make the world the way it was before."

"Don't ignore my request, Stefan. I want Nicoleta back."

"I'm not sure that's fair to her, Titus. Why would we bring her back if she'll just die again in about sixty years?"

"Because I said so."

"Titus, we'd rather not.."

"Either you bring her back or I'm not helping you. You let me worry about those little details when I have her back." They looked nervous and looked at each other a moment again. Then they looked at Antanas, who was now paying attention to the conversation.

"Just take me to where she is and I'll bring her back." Moments passed and Vladimir and Stefan remained silent and thoughtful. When they finally spoke, it was in a tone I wasn't fond of at all. Stefan was the one to finally answer me, and his tone was harsh as he spoke. I ignored it until I heard what he had to say.

"Alright. But does that mean you're going to change her?"

"No. I said I never would and that means I never will."

"Then what's the point of bringing her back when you'll just lose her again?" Antanas was the one who said this. He wasn't being rude, but sincere and trying to be helpful. I was fast beginning to appreciate this boy. He was a genuine child and he seemed like the kind of kid that wanted to help others.

"I'll deal with that when the time comes. But for now, I want her back." Antanas nodded in understanding and stayed quiet so the rest of us could talk. Stefan sighed a little before speaking.

"I suppose we better get to Prague. The sooner you have her the sooner we can start planning."

Before leaving, I snuck off to find a clothing store. I refused to let Nicoleta see me in dirty clothes that were too big for me. I found a nice pair of black dress pants, a white shirt, and a black silk vest. It was something I was used to and Nicoleta had always liked on me. I found everyone again and listened to Vladimir and Stefan yell at me for wandering away from the group like I was a child. Antanas was asleep for most of the trip to Prague. He spent most of his time in Niele's arms sleeping with Mykolas taking over holding him occasionally. We stopped in Budapest to hunt. I hadn't fed in over a hundred years, so the blood was welcomed. And while on our trip, Vladimir and Stefan told me about everything that had happened while I was dead. I wasn't surprised in the least when they described the Great War and World War II to me. If anything, I was surprised it took so long to start.

By the time we got to Prague, it was the mid afternoon and the sun was high in the sky. We stayed out of the streets and out of the sight of any humans. While on the rooftops, Antanas looked for the image of Nicoleta to show in his head. He mentioned that we were passing a lot of wolves that looked odd in his mind, but we didn't think too much about that. I was more concerned about Nicoleta. It took a long time to find Nicoleta. Vladimir and Stefan knew the general area of where she was thanks to the bird I gave them over a century ago, but they didn't know exactly where she was. When we finally found her, it was one in the morning and few people were out in the streets. We walked through the street until we got to the ally way where Antanas said he saw Nicoleta's image at its clearest.

"I see her." He finally said.

"How long will it take?" Antanas shrugged.

"Just a few seconds. No longer than what it took you." Antanas walked to the spot he deemed the best and went on all fours with his eyes closed and in deep concentration. I watched him closely and waited to hear something that might indicate she was coming.

When Antanas was done, he left the spot where she was and walked to Niele and Mykolas, letting Niele lift him into her arms again. I walked a little closer to the spot where he'd been and waited for something to happen. I didn't hear anything, but I did start to see something. Something white was starting to form out of thin air. And I started to pick up her scent. I'd know her scent anywhere. The white I saw started to form into something. When I saw the ridges that formed, I realized it was her spine forming. Then the rest of her bones were beginning to form, like her ribs, legs, arms, and finally, her skull.

Once her skeleton was formed, muscles started to grow all over her body along with all her organs like the heart, lungs, intestines and so on. When her eyes formed and I saw the hazel irises, I knew it really was her. I walked a little closer to her, but forced myself not to get too close to her just yet. Then her skin started to cover the muscle and I would her small whines coming from her as the stretching sensation started. I closed the distance and kneeled before her when her skin was almost done and her face was back and scrunched in discomfort. When I was close enough, she grabbed onto my arm and held on tight as the last of it was almost over. Her whines were small, but I stayed close to her anyway. And I started unbuttoning my vest and shirt getting ready to put it on her to cover her body. When she was finally done, her eyes were wide open with her hazel eyes staring at me, then she was out again.

She was only asleep, and her face looked calm and serene. I was happy she at least wasn't in pain when they killed her. I put my shirt and vest on her and buttoned it before lifting her into my arms. When I was holding her, I looked at her sleeping face and felt myself smile. Now I could say that I'd known I'd come for her all along. She smelled just as I remembered her and her sleeping face was just as I remembered. Nothing had changed. She was as beautiful and wonderful as ever. I was so lost in her that I lost all interest in the five people that were standing behind me. After spending a few moments looking at her, I brought her upper body closer to me and hugged her tight, overjoyed that she was in my arms again. And as I looked at her, another thought, though painful, came to my head. I never wanted to go through the pain of losing her again. What was that I knew I would. Unless………..It was the one thing I swore I would never do to her. And yet I realized it was my only option to assure that I would never lose her again.

"Titus." I turned to look at Stefan when he spoke. "Now will you help us?" I nodded.

"What is it, exactly, that you want to do? Just come back into power or something more?" Vladimir answered my question.

"We want things to be the way they were. Pick up where we left off, if you will." I wasn't sure if they were being serious at first. It seemed like a ludicrous request.

"There's no way we can make the world the way it was when the two of you were in power. When you were in power, Egypt was at its prime. It was before the Romans and Europe was no more than a waste land of disease and ignorance. Times have changed. Populations have grown, inventions have been made to make man's lives easier and safer, or more dangerous depending on how you look at it. They aren't the Neanderthals they once were."

"We never said it had to be exactly the same. We were thinking more along the lines of instilling the fear they once had for us." I sighed a little and thought for a moment. Then another thought came to my mind.

"You said Antanas brought back a werewolf, right? That's how you found out what his power was?" They all nodded and Vladimir spoke.

"Yes, that's right." I looked to Antanas from Vladimir.

"You said you saw the image of several images of strange looking wolves as we were walking through here, right?" Antanas nodded.

"Yeah. They were foaming at the mouth and they had yellow and red eyes. And their heads looked a little bigger than they should be and its canines were a little bigger." I nodded in acknowledgement. Then I looked at Vladimir and Stefan again.

"You want to make things as close to the past as possible?" They both nodded. "And you want to instill that previous fear?" They nodded. "Alright. I think I have a solution for you." They both grinned.

"We're all ears."

"Bring back all those wolves that Antanas saw. They're all infected with the werewolf virus. Do this in every major city we can find them in and let them run wild. They'll start infecting all the inhabitants, hence minimizing the population like it had been when you were in power and Antanas can kill them again as soon as the results are satisfactory to you. That will also let people know what the two of you are capable of. And seeing as most of man's defenses will do nothing to us, let them learn the hard way that they can't fight you, making them fear you more."

Vladimir and Stefan looked at each other, then back at me with grins staying on their faces. They loved the idea. And it would be fool proof as long as they didn't swerve away from the plan in any way. They had a habit of doing things that I'd specifically told them not to do and screw up the plan all together and leave it to me to fix it. I wasn't planning on getting them out of this one if they screwed it up. They were grown men, perfectly capable of solving their own problems. It wasn't my responsibility to dig them out of a hole.

"That's a good plan, Titus." Stefan then looked at Antanas. "You can get to that after you get some sleep, alright, Antanas." Antanas nodded and yawned.

"Okay. After I get some sleep." I smiled kindly at Antanas and he smiled back before snuggling into Niele's chest and closing his eyes to sleep. Then I looked at Vladimir and Stefan with a serious face.

"Thank you for your help. I hope my advice will do the two of you some good."

"You aren't going to leave, are you?" asked Vladimir.

"I have Nicoleta and I've told you guys what you need to do. What more do you need from me?" Stefan spoke next.

"Just because you told us the big picture doesn't mean we don't still want you for everything in between. Stay with our coven and help us."

"You two should know me better than that. I don't want to be a part of a coven. I don't want to spend all my time with any more people than just Nicoleta. Besides, you two can handle yourselves. You don't need my help."

"On the contrary, Titus. You're the one that knows how to make your previous inventions and you're the one that's creative enough and smart enough to come up with more. You're a great asset to have to this coven. And think, Titus. Alongside us, you could become one of the most powerful vampires in the world." I chuckled a little under my breath.

"Vladimir, Stefan, if I wanted to be the most powerful vampire in the world, I would have accomplished that all on my own a long time ago. I don't need anyone's help to acquire power. I have infinite amounts of skills under my belt. That's all I need."

"That's all well and good, Titus. But it takes more than one man to rule a country. It takes several minds and powers. That's what we had before in b.c. That's what we're trying to recreate now in a.d."

"Then have the child bring back your old coven." They both shook their heads and Vladimir continued.

"No member of our old coven had a useful power. And besides, our former coven members were quite greedy and always disobeyed our orders. We'd hate to bring back such an inconvenience." I looked at them for a little longer, trying to stare them down. I wasn't in the mood for this. Finally, I sighed.

"Could I at least have a few hours alone with Nicoleta? I haven't seen her in over a hundred years." Vladimir and Stefan glanced at each other for a moment, smiled, then looked at me again.

"How rude of us. Please, have some time alone with your wife. We'll get started on your plan while you're gone. But please, do look for us as soon as you're done." Reluctantly, I agreed.

"Alright. I'll find you guys later." They all smiled a little before they turned and ran through the city to find a place to stay while Antanas got some sleep.

When they were gone, I looked at Nicoleta and lifted her a little closer to me so I could kiss her head. Then I repositioned the way I was holding her so that I had a free hand and pulled us up the wall and onto the roof so I could run through the city more freely and better see what buildings were available and if there might be a place I could take her where we would have plenty of privacy. It wasn't simply because I wanted to be alone with her, though nothing at the moment would make me happier. Nicoleta and I needed to talk about something really serious that I'd hoped we'd never have to talk about. The subject had come up once in all the time we'd been together in the past. I'd told her no and she'd never brought it up again. I wished there was another way to keep her with me forever, but there simply wasn't. And there was no way I was going to do something like that to her without talking to her about it first. But now wasn't the time. We were reunited after a century of being apart. I refused to ruin that moment.

I ran around the city for a good twenty minutes before I found a large house deep in the city that was empty. It had a for sale sign outside and I didn't smell anything that had been there for any longer than a few hours. I found a spot in the mansion that was carelessly left open and climbed through the window that went into a living room. The house was furnished to my luck. And it smelled like it'd been cleaned thoroughly recently. I walked through the house looking around until I found a large bedroom that I assumed was the master bedroom. There was a large bed that was covered in silk blue covers with gold and royal blues. I walked over to the bed and placed Nicoleta on the comforter and took a seat close to her. I didn't want to wake her up. I wasn't sure if she was in shock or simply just asleep. Either way, I didn't want to bother her.

I watched her for hours as she slept. Her hair was down and spread out along the pillow and only one button on my shirt was closed. I started running my fingers over the exposed skin, taking in the feel of her. I couldn't imagine the pain I'd put her through. More than anyone should ever go through I was sure. But I had every intention of making it up to her in every way I could, no matter what it would take.

Finally, the sun was bright in the sky, showing that it was mid-morning, and she started to groan herself awake and stretch out the night. I brought my hand to her face and held her as she came to. I was smiling at her long before she finally opened her eyes. And she smiled back at me with love when she saw me. I didn't give her a chance to say a thing. I couldn't be parted from her anymore. I brought my lips to hers and kissed her, trying my best to make her feel all the love I feel for her. Her hands lifted to my neck and started traveling into my hair where she pulled gently. She was smiling through the kiss, as was I. She lifted her legs so that she was cradling my hips and she wrapped her arms around me tightly wanting me as close as she could get me. Our lips parted and I started kissing her neck, licking at the pulse points in her neck lovingly. She sighed contentedly and let her fingers move over my scalp. Then she pushed my head back, wanting me to look at her. When I saw her, her eyes were filled with tears of pure joy. I smiled at her in return.

"You really came for me." I smiled wider and I brushed away a tear that fell.

"Of course I did. I told you I would, didn't I?" She smiled wider and tears started to fall freely.

"I was so sure I'd never see you again. But I was wrong. There really is a heaven." I smiled and kissed her nose.

"This isn't heaven my love. This is earth. We've been brought back from the dead by a little half vampire child named Antanas." Her face became confused.

"Half vampire?" I nodded.

"Yes. His parents, Niele and Mykolas, used science to have a child together despite being vampires. They had to make their son half human, but it worked. And he has the power to bring back those that died. Whenever he's in a spot where someone died, he sees their images in his head. When that image is clear enough, he thinks about that person being alive. And before you know it, you are." Nicoleta's face remained thoughtful. I waited for her to say something or to change the subject.

"To go through so much trouble to have a child. I admire their determination." I smiled and nodded.

"And he's a nice little boy. You'll like him when you meet him. But for now, I'd like to have some much needed alone time with my wife." She smiled again and let me bring my face closer and kiss her.

I immediately made the kiss passionate and dipped my tongue into her mouth to explore. Her hand moved from my hair to my bare back and started scratching her nails along my bare skin. She tried to force me closer to her, and I happily granted it. My hands had moved straight to her thighs where I caressed them lovingly and felt goose bumps start to form. She let her tongue wonder around my mouth the same way I did to hers, making sure to avoid my teeth. She took me by surprise and started sucking on my tongue like it was candy. I let her do so and gently squeezed her thighs as she went along. Then I took my lips away again and started kissing and sucking her neck and ears ever so slowly. Her head fell back on the pillow and she sighed contentedly as I kissed. I kissed all the way down her chest, kissing everything that the single closed button would allow. She would moan and I would feel a sense of satisfaction and pleasure that I'd needed since the moment I was revived.

"Titus." She said my name in a breathy tone. When I heard her say it, I trailed my hands up her thighs, hips, waist, then to her breasts. Then she pulled me back up with all her strength and brought our lips back together in a searing kiss.

She held me tightly and kissed me with love and need. After kissing her for several minutes, I started kissing along her neck and going down the route I'd originally been taking. Her fingers laced back through my hair and she started to sigh with joy. As I kissed down her neck and chest, I encountered the single sealed button on my shirt that she was wearing. When I did, I unbuttoned it with my teeth faster than it could register in her head that it'd happened. When the shirt was completely unbuttoned, I pushed the fabric aside so that she was bare to my eyes. I started kissing her breasts lovingly, making her sigh. Then I took the tip into my mouth, gently sucking and licking, but never biting, she moaned and her hands clutched onto my hair. My hands traveled along her body feeling her soft skin and trying to bring her closer to me.

Once I'd loved her right breast, I started kissing my way to her left and started doing the same thing to that as I had to the other. As I kissed, I started to smell her tears. I looked up at her and saw tears beginning to form in her eyes. I brought myself back to her and licked away both tears before they could fall and started kissing her all over her face starting at her forehead, then kissing her closed eyes, both cheeks, her nose, and finally her lips. Her arms wrapped completely around my neck trying to hold me securely to her. She started trembling, so I lifted my face from her and looked at her. She was now looking at me too.

"This all feels like a dream." I smiled at her and kissed her again.

"It's not, my love. I promise it's not." Her smile widened and she kissed me again, wanting to continue where we left off.

When I was where she wanted me, her hands traveled from around my neck to my chest. Her fingers spread and started to touch everywhere she could. My hands started to travel too. I moved my hands from her thighs to her hips where I pushed her body up a little so that I was kissing along her collarbone and going down. My hands then traveled to her inner thighs and I started to caress her the way she wanted the most. Her moans were soft and needy and she was rubbing my chest and back like she was trying to find a part to grab onto. I entered two fingers into her and started kissing her, wanting to taste her again. Her hands clutched onto my shoulders when she felt my fingers and her moans were getting louder, but were still soft and demure.

She moaned my name through our kiss. It filled me with a sense of pride that always made me feel like I could really conquer anything. Her hands went back to my chest after moaning my name and they traveled down until they reached the top of my pants. Her legs seemed to clutch tighter onto me as they cradled me, trying to hold me in place. When her hands reached the top of my pants, she unbuttoned them and pulled down the zipper, eager to hold me. I took my hands away from her completely then and clutched onto the covers on either side of her face not wanting to bruise her or hurt her in any way. It only took her seconds to get me out and to force me inside her. When I entered her, she moaned loudly and wrapped her arms around my waist and started digging her nails into my skin, even if she wasn't able to pierce my skin.

I started to move at a slow pace. She held on tighter as I moved, but I did my best not to hold onto her. I knew I would hurt her if I dared. I settled for resting my face into her neck after kissing was no longer possible for her. And when I felt the need to bite, I reached behind and bit into a pillow. It tasted awful. It was like biting into soap, but I tolerated it. I heard tearing from the fabric of the pillow and from the sheets that I was clutching onto. Nicoleta's moans were starting to get louder as I quickened my pace and made it impossible for her to match it. She started biting into my shoulder, though not hurting me.

She was squealing my name within minutes. I remained quiet, but was always subtly speeding up. Whenever I let myself talk when making love to her, I always said things that I didn't mean and called her things I was glad she didn't understand.

She started pushing me as I moved, I didn't stop moving, but I lifted myself onto my elbows to give her some breathing room. But when I was on my elbows, she kept trying to push me onto my back. I did as she wanted and let her straddle my hips and let my hands guide her movements. She rested her hands on my shoulders for support and I fought my hardest to keep my grip on her hips as gentle as possible. She wasn't as careful, though. Her hands were tight on my shoulders and were only tightening. I started to feel her body convulse and her moans started to turn into whining screams. She would say my name over and over and would moan loudly, as if there was no one around to hear her. Eventually, she was spent and her body clutched around me as she practically screamed my name to the ceiling and stayed in her high as I reached for mine. Then I finally got to the highest point in the universe and let go of her to clutch onto the covers again as my body collapsed as hers did to me. Once I'd let go of her, she fell onto my chest and started breathing heavily while kissing my chest with little innocent pecks. It didn't take long at all for me to recover, but Nicoleta was spent. She rested her head on my chest and was silent for several minutes. I laid there and let her recover before she said anything more.

"I missed you so much." I brought my hands to her back and arm and started caressing her soothingly.

"I'm sorry. I should have stayed with you. I don't know how long we would have been safe, but at least we would have been together."

"We're together now. That's all that matters." I smiled and kissed her forehead.

"I'm sorry to have done that to you my love. I'll never do that to you again. Never." She finally smiled and nuzzled her face into my chest and started giving me chaste kisses again. Then she rested her head back onto my chest and was silent again. A few more minutes went by before we said anything else to each other. We simply laid there trying to take in how good it was and how true it really was that we were finally together again. But as I held her, I started to feel sick. I needed to talk to her about changing her. Maybe she would allow me to take some time to think of another way to keep her alive. I would let it be her decision. If she really wanted to be with me forever as a vampire, then I wouldn't deny her that, no matter how much I wanted to.

"My love." Nicoleta opened her eyes and lifted her head to look at me.

"Yes, Titus? Is something wrong? You look upset." I tried to force a smile, but I knew I wasn't doing very well. I forced the words as best I could.

"There's something I think you and I need to talk about."

"What do you mean?" I was silent again. I didn't want to talk about this. I wanted so badly to drop the conversation. "Titus, please tell me." She brought her hands to my face and lifted herself a little so that she was resting her elbows on my chest. I didn't release the hold I already had on her as I finally spoke.

"What I put you through……it never should have happened. The Volturi may be gone now….but that doesn't mean you'll be safe from all danger." She looked confused. She ignored the comment about the Volturi and tried to make me continue.

"What are you talking about?" I was silent again for a moment. But she waited patiently for me to start talking again. When I did, I had to force my voice to be loud enough for her to hear.

"I know I said that I would never change you. But I think I might not have any other option." Her face became aware when I said that. She didn't look angry or appalled. She only looked at me.

"You mean it?" I nodded.

"Yes." She started smiling at me then. I tried to smile back, but I felt like I'd swallowed led.

"I want to be with you forever, Titus. I don't care what it takes." She pushed herself off me then and laid in bed next to me. Then she pulled her hair away so that her neck was beautifully visible. "I never want to go through that pain again, Titus. Nor do I want you to ever feel that pain again. Make me what you are and we'll never have to worry about going through that again." I was reluctant. I stared at her neck and had to force myself not to lick my lips. I could see the veins in her neck pulsate with blood and it burned my throat. Finally, I looked at her again with the most serious face I could give her.

"You're sure this is what you want?" She nodded.

"Positive."

"No doubts or fears?" She shook her head.

"None at all." She kept her neck bare to me, ready to let me bite at any time. Before she could blink, I was on top of her with my mouth close to her neck. But before I bit, I kissed her neck and waited.

"It's three days of burning, Nicoleta. You'll wish you were dead."

"I don't care. If it means we'll never be apart, I don't care." I didn't say anything more. I loved this woman so much. I wished that there was another way, but there wasn't. I kissed her neck on last time.

"I love you, Nicoleta. My sweet, fragile, kind hearted, human wife." She smiled.

"I love you too, Titus. My handsome, arrogant, vampire husband." I smiled back and she brought her hands to my face guiding me back to her neck. When I was there, I took a deep, unneeded breath, and bit. It took all my will power to stop sucking her blood and force myself away from her. She screamed from the bite, but still smiled at me. "Thank you, Titus." I smiled back at her and kissed her lovingly. I rested my forehead against hers and looked into her eyes. She would feel the burn very soon.

"Anything for you, my love. Three days, and you'll be like me." She smiled wider.

"I can't wait." Then, after she said that, her eyes widened from the burn she was beginning to feel. Then she grabbed onto my arms and clutched as hard as she could. I started kissing all over her face, trying to cool her.

"I'm sorry, Nicoleta. It'll be over with soon. I promise." She only nodded her head and forced her eyes closed from the pain. She did her best to avoid screaming. I was proud of her for that.

But as luck would have it, I heard something unsettling. I heard the front door to the house open and a woman talking about the house to about three people from what I could hear. She started talking about the age of the house, its history and so on and so forth. Nicoleta still wasn't screaming, but she was grunting loudly. It wouldn't take much for them to hear her and come in to investigate. It was bad enough police would probably be brought in once they saw the damage I'd done to the sheets and pillow of the bed. I lifted Nicoleta into my arms and looked out the master bedroom window to see where it would lead. It was a view the showed the busy streets of Prague. There was no way I would ever be able to go out there and not have someone see me. There weren't many other options, but my only option wasn't that great.

The footsteps were coming closer to the master bedroom. They could probably hear Nicoleta now. She was clutching onto my shoulders as if it would help lessen the pain she was feeling. I desperately wished that it did. I got dressed, took a chance, opened the window, and climbed out and climbed the walls so I could get onto the roof. Thankfully, I was fast enough that no one saw more than just light in the corner of their eyes. I relaxed when we were together on the roof. No one could see us and no one would be able to get up here easily. It was mid morning, so we weren't going anywhere for another few hours. I kept Nicoleta close to me and kept her grunts and occasional screams muffled into my chest. We stayed on that roof for the rest of the day. I heard the woman from earlier scream when she saw the condition of the comforter in the master bedroom and call the police to find fingerprints. They never found anything and left baffled.

Later in the afternoon, I heard a loud, annoying sound in the distance. It was a high pitched sound that became louder, softer, then louder again. It past us and the sound was too loud to bear. The thing making the sound was a large moving vehicle that was white with red white and blue lights shining and a large red cross on the side. It had writing below the Red Cross that said a word I wasn't familiar with. There was that one word and the rest translated to the General Teachings Hospital. The sound was finally gone when it traveled further into the city away from the woods.

I held onto Nicoleta for the rest of the afternoon. When it was night, I finally left the rooftop and jumped from roof to roof until I found a clothing store. I wasn't crazy about the clothes I'd seen on people in the streets. Everything seemed vulgar and cheap. But now wasn't the time to be picky about what she would wear. If anything, she wouldn't stand out in a crowd like she would if she were to wear the dresses I'd given her. I snuck us into the clothing store and looked at all the options. In the end, I just copied something that one of the manikins was wearing and put it on her within seconds. When she was dressed, I put on my shirt and vest. Thankfully, my shirt wasn't covered in any blood, so I could just walk out there with Nicoleta and let passer bys assume she was drunk or something. But as I got dressed, I smelled a familiar scent. It as Vladimir, Stefan, and the others. I turned to look at them and Vladimir spoke with a smile on his face.

"I see you finally decided to change her."

"There wasn't any other option. We talked about it, she agreed it was the best thing that could be done, so I bit her." Vladimir and Stefan nodded approvingly, then Stefan reached into his pocket and took out something sparkly. My eyes widened when I realized what it was. It was the rosary I'd made for Nicoleta so many years ago. With it was the wooden moon necklace I used to wear and mine and Nicoleta's wedding rings. "Where did you get those?"

"Vladimir and I killed Athenadora and Sulpicia and we took these from them when they were dead. We knew these were things you'd made for Nicoleta. It seemed like a waste to let them sink into the sea." I looked at them for a minute before talking.

"Thanks." I walked over to them and took the jewelry. I put on my wedding band and put on Nicoleta's engagement ring and wedding band and both necklaces. Her face was cringing in pain, but I could see the changes. Her usual light olive tone was turning paler as the seconds passed and her skin was getting colder.

"Let's get moving. We don't want to be here when those wolves really start doing damage." Niele's voice was urgent and she was practically out the door already. Vladimir nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, we should." Then he looked at me. "We know all too well how those creatures can be." I didn't say anything further. Neither did they. They only turned towards the door and walked out. I followed after them after I had Nicoleta back in my arms. We walked through Prague until we reached the woods. Then we started running. We didn't stop running until we were out of Prague and made our way to what was now Slovakia. Nicoleta was quiet for the whole trip, but I could tell she was in pain. It was all over her face. The three days that she was changing didn't go by nearly fast enough. It was like waiting for a shooting star.

Vladimir and Stefan made the group keep moving and had Antanas bringing back infected wolves everywhere he saw their images clearly in his head. By the end of those three days, we were already out of Slovakia and around into Poland. Four hours after crossing the Polish border, I heard Nicoleta's heartbeat start to speed up again, showing that she was almost completely changed. I stopped in my tracks and placed her against a tree and watched her. When they realized I wasn't following them anymore, they all came back and were standing behind me. They were about to ask why I'd stopped, but they knew why when they heard Nicoleta's heartbeat.

We were all silent and watched her closely as she finished. I could hear her heartbeat speeding up and her skin was colder than ever. But it felt warm to me and my own could skin. She was still cringing in pain, but now she was subtly reaching up her hands towards her heart where the pain was currently at its worst. But I took both her hands into mine and was ready to hold her in my arms when she was finally okay. I held my breath for the last few minutes. I was probably the only one. And when her heart thudded its last beat, she breathed her last needed breath, and she was still.

**NPOV**

The pain was finally gone. I was sure I'd never felt such a sense of relief as I did knowing that the burning was finally over. I breathed out when it was over and I felt myself stop. Then I heard the most beautiful sound in the world. I knew exactly who it was, but it sounded so beautiful that I wondered how my human ears were ever able to hear him at all.

"Nicoleta. My love." My eyes opened the moment I heard his voice. When my eyes opened, he smiled at me and I smiled back. He was even more gorgeous than I remembered. My memories of him were blurry through my human eyes. I wondered how I was ever able to see him. He came to me, but it was slow.

"Titus." His smile widened when I said his name. But the voice I heard stunned me. My voice hadn't sounded like this. Nothing like this at all. "Is it over?" Titus nodded his head and kissed me.

"Yes, my love. It's over." When he said that, I kissed him again. I was surprised that I was able to push him back. I'd never been able to do that before. I dared to think that I might actually be stronger than him.

Titus didn't stop me or complain that I'd hurt him. He only took me in his arms and lifted me up with him as he stood. Our kiss was passionate and loving. I brushed my tongue along his teeth, just to see if I could do it. I was, and with no pain at all. What had once felt like stone now felt like soft silk. It was nice to finally kiss him and move with him instead of being moved by his lips. And it was so strange for him to feel warm to me. I was so used to him being cold. But now he wasn't. It was the most wonderful feeling in the world. I wasn't even getting light headed as we kissed. I didn't need air anymore. That seemed to make the moment all the more enjoyable. I heard someone cough and was about to look at them, but Titus kept kissing me, ordering me to ignore them. I was more than happy to comply with that demand. But then we heard that same person clear their throat again. Titus reluctantly took his lips away from mine and looked behind him at the five other vampires. I realized I only recognized Vladimir and Stefan. I was amazed I remembered them seeing as my memories of them were very blurry. Stefan spoke with a tone that was half happy and annoyed.

"I'm glad the two of you are so happy, but we do need to keep going. Those wolves won't bring themselves back to life." Titus looked annoyed, but he didn't say anything. Instead, he looked at me with those loving eyes, kissed me one last time, and took my hand to lead me with him.

"Let's get going, my love. I'll explain everything on the way."

"Alright." After that, Titus told all the plans that Vladimir and Stefan had. He introduced me to Antanas and his parents and told me about everything that had happened while we were dead. I cared very little about all those things though. It seemed that the only thing I cared about and what was making me smile the whole time we talked, was the fact that we were finally together again and that nothing would ever tear us apart ever again and that, in the end, we would really be together for all eternity.


End file.
